UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


3 


PETER    BINNEY 


A  NOVEL 


BY 


ARCHIBALD  ,  MARSHALL 


L'' 


3      i      i  3    J 

3     >       J        J       » 
J  J       J       >    ,   J 


,      J  >    J    J       Jl 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

1921 


PUBLISHED  1921   IN  U.   8.  A. 

By  DODD,  mead  AND  COMPANY,  Inc. 


PRINTED    IN    THE    U     S     A     BY 

tCbt  <&uinn   Sc  Vobra   Companp 

BOOK       MANUFACTURERS 
RAHWAY  NEW      JERSEY 


Q 


I 
& 


"PR 


\ 


^  TO 

g  E.  F.   BENSON 


INTRODUCTION 

It  is  over  twenty  years  since  "  Peter  Binney  "  was  first 
published  in  England,  and  I  should  be  unwilling  to 
offer  it  to  my  American  readers  at  this  time  of  day 
without  some  plea  for  leniency  towards  a  young  man's 
book,  which  contains  perhaps  more  than  the  average 
number  of  crudities  to  be  found  in  such  beginnings.  A 
few  of  the  crudities  I  have  been  able  to  soften,  but  if 
you  begin  tampering  with  early  work  in  the  light  of 
maturer  knowledge,  you  are  very  apt  to  rub  off  the 
bloom  that  attaches  to  it  just  because  it  is  early  work, 
written  with  spirit  and  freshness,  though  with  little 
skill.  So  I  have  left  "  Peter  Binney  "  much  as  it  was, 
with  most  of  its  imperfections  on  its  head,  and  I  trust 
some  compensating  merits. 

One  merit  I  know  it  to  possess.  It  presents  a  picture 
of  the  lighter  side  of  undergraduate  life  as  it  was  in 
Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  as  it  still  exists,  in  spite  of 
superficial  changes;  and  that  is  something  that  can 
only  be  done  by  a  young  man,  whose  memories  are  still 
fresh,  and  to  whom  that  life  is  still  important  enough 
to  make  it  the  basis  of  a  story. 

New  York,  July,  1921 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     Mr.  Binney  Makes  Up  His  Mixd     .      .  1 

II     Mr.    Binney    Interviews    One    Tutor, 

AND  Engages  Another      ....        18 

III  Lucius  Wins  a  Year's  Respite  ...        36 

IV  No  Help  To  Be  Gained  from  Mrs.  Hig- 

GINBOTHAM 52 

V     Mr.  Binney  Arrives  in  Cambridge  .      .        62 

VI     Lord  Blathgowrie  Has  Something  to 

Say 71 

VII  Mr.  Binney  Speaks  at  the  Union  and 
Makes  a  Distinguished  Acquaint- 
ance         84 

VIII     The  Newnham  Girl 102 

IX  Mr.  Binney  Gives  a  Dinner  and  Re- 
ceives A  Rebuff 115 

X     "  The  New  Court  Chronicle  "      .      .      138 

XI     "  Put  Him  in  the  Fountain  "...     156 

XII     Lucius  Makes  One  Discovery  and  Mrs. 

Toller  Another 174 

XIII  Mr.  Binney  Gets  into  Trouble       .      .      191 

XIV  Nemesis 213 

XV     Lucius  Finds  a  Backwater  ....      227 

XVI     Thhid  Trinity  Makes  a  Bump  ...      245 
XVII     Mr.  Binney  Drinks  the  Health  of  a 

"Blue" 264 

vii 


CHAPTER  I 

MR.   BINNEY   MAKES   UP   HIS   MIND 

"  I'll  do  it  to-day,"  said  Peter  Binnej. 

He  had  been  sitting  deep  in  thought  ever  since  he  had 
climbed  on  to  the  omnibus  outside  his  place  of  business 
in  the  Whitechapel  Road,  As  the  vehicle  pursued  its 
ponderous  way  through  the  crowded  streets  of  the  City, 
stopping  now  and  again  to  add  to  its  load  of  homeward- 
bound  business  men,  Mr.  Binney  sat  in  his  seat,  silent 
and  preoccupied,  his  eyes  on  the  ground  and  a  thought- 
ful frown  on  his  face.  As  it  left  the  Post  Office,  full 
inside  and  out,  and  bowled  smartly  along  the  broad 
asphalted  road  towards  the  Viaduct,  his  face  cleared, 
the  light  of  determination  shone  in  his  eye,  and  looking 
up,  he  said  aloud : — 

"  I'll  do  it  to-day." 

His  fellow  passengers  gazed  at  him  in  surprise,  and 
a  young  lady  who  sat  by  his  side,  heavily  fringed  and 
feathered,  and  laden  with  a  huge  cardboard  box, 
laughed  a  coarse  laugh,  and  said: 

"  That's  right,  guv'nor,  don't  j^ou  put  it  off  no 
longer." 

Mr.  Binney  had  not  intended  to  express  his  deter- 
mination aloud,  and  the  notice  his  remark  had  drawn 

1 


2  PETER  BliNNEY 

annojcd  lilin.  As  the  young  lady  was  apparently  turn- 
ing ovir  111  licr  mind  further  witticisms,  he  decided  to 
leave  the  omnibus  and  walk  the  rest  of  the  way  to  his 
house  in  Russell  Square.  He  made  his  way  slowly  down 
the  unsteady  stairs,  and  the  young  lady  said: 

"  A  good  cup  o'  beef  tea's  what  you  want,  George, 
and  don't  forgit  the  'ot-water  bottle,"  and  as  the  omni- 
bus pursued  its  way,  leaving  him  walking  briskly  along 
the  pavement,  she  leant  over  the  side  and  called  out, 
"  Git  IVIariar  to  put  a  mustard  plaster  on  yer  chest," 
which  made  the  people  on  the  omnibus  laugh,  although 
Mr.  Binncy  could  see  no  humour  in  the  remark. 

He  had  come,  however,  to  such  a  momentous  decision 
during  the  last  half-hour  that  by  the  time  he  had  gone 
a  dozen  steps  he  had  ceased  to  feel  any  irritation  at 
the  young  lady's  pleasantries,  and  walked  smartly 
along,  his  brain  all  on  fire  with  his  mighty  purpose. 

Peter  Biiuiey  was  a  small  man  of  about  forty-five 
years  of  age.  His  hair  was  gingery,  and  his  whiskers 
decidedly  red.  He  looked  rather  like  a  little  bantam- 
cock  as  he  strutted  along,  and  this  was  a  curious  coinci- 
dence, for  he  had  made  his  fortune  by  selling  poultry 
fond. 

Every  one  has  heard  of  BInnev's  Food  for  Poultry. 
Indeed  it  would  be  quite  impossible  for  anybody  who 
is  able  to  read  to  be  unaware  of  its  existence,  for  its 
fame  is  blazoned  on  every  hoarding  in  the  T"'^nitcd  King- 
dom.    It  was  Peter  Binney  who  first  conceived  the  idea 


MR.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND         3 

of  advancing  the  cause  of  art  and  advertising  his  wares 
at  the  same  time.  In  the  early  days,  when  the  future 
world-famed  business  was  just  emerging  from  its  chrysa- 
lis state  of  a  little  cornchandler's  shop  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  East  India  Docks,  he  was  content  to 
publish  a  picture  of  a  simpering  young  woman  in  a 
quilted  satin  petticoat  and  dancing  shoes,  feeding  a 
number  of  plethoric  hens  in  a  very  clean  farmyard. 
But  when  the  shop  became  a  factory  and  Mr.  Binney's 
keen  business  capacity  began  to  tell,  he  issued  his  cele- 
brated series  of  "  Raphael's  Cartoons  for  the  Home," 
across  the  sky  of  each  of  which  ran  the  inscription, 
"  Binney's  Food  for  Poultry."  After  a  little  time  he 
published  an  edition  of  the  "  Plays  of  Shakespeare,"  in 
which  all  the  passages  that  Mr.  Bowdler  would  have 
omitted  were  ingeniously  converted  by  Mr.  Binney  into 
eulogies  on  his  Food  for  Poultry.  Poultry  and  taste 
were  alike  fed  by  Mr.  Binney,  and  his  business  flourished 
accordingly.  At  the  age  of  forty-five  he  found  him- 
self a  rich  man,  with  a  house  in  Russell  Square,  a  family 
tomb  in  Kensal  Green  Cemetery  (tenanted  at  present 
only  by  his  wife),  and  a  son  who  was  being  educated 
at  Eton. 

But  to  return  to  the  present  time  and  Mr.  Binney's 
purpose.  \Vhen  he  had  let  himself  into  the  house  in 
Russell  Square,  he  rang  the  bell  and  inquired  of  the 
parlour-maid  who  answered  It  if  Mr.  Lucius  was  at 
home.     Hearing  that  he  was  not,  Mr.  Binney  seemed 


4  TETER  BINNEY 

somewhat  relieved,  and  went  straight  up  into  his  dress- 
ing-room, where  he  put  on  the  coat  and  trousers  gen- 
erally reserved  for  Sunday  wear,  and  exchanged  his 
dark  tic  for  a  brilliant  red  one.  Then  he  looked  at  his 
boots,  and  hesitated.  They  were  neat  enough,  but  they 
had  lost  the  sober  brilliance  of  the  morning.  There 
was  a  row  of  similar  boots  freshly  blacked  under  the 
dressing-table,  but  even  these  must  have  wanted  some- 
tiiing  in  Mr.  Binney's  eyes,  for  after  looking  at  them 
thoughtfully  he  shook  his  head,  and  opening  the  door 
stole  quietly  out  and  upstairs  into  a  room  above  his 
own.  It  was  rather  an  untidy  room  and  evidently  oc- 
cupied by  a  young  man  of  athletic  tastes,  to  judge  by 
the  dumb-bells  and  Indian  clubs,  cricket-bats,  guncases 
and  fishing-rods  that  littered  the  corners.  There  was 
a  row  of  boots  and  shoes  under  the  dressing-table  here 
too,  and  among  them  a  pair  of  shining  patent  leathers. 
IVIr.  Binney  made  his  way  across  the  room  on  ti})toe, 
and  seizing  the  boots,  trees  and  all,  retreated  with  them 
hurriedly  to  his  own  room,  where  he  sat  down  and  put 
them  on.  They  were  a  good  deal  too  big,  but  an  extra 
pair  of  winter  socks  set  that  right,  and  when  Mr.  Bin- 
ney had  buttoned  them  he  stood  up  on  a  chair  and 
surveyed  himsilf  in  the  glass  with  considerable  satis- 
faction. "  I  nmst  get  a  pair  like  that,"  he  said.  Then 
he  went  downstairs,  and  putting  on  his  best  hat  and 
gloves,  and  taking  his  best  umbrella  out  of  the  stand, 
he  left  the  house. 


MR.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND         5 

Turning  to  the  left,  Mr.  Binney  made  his  way  towards 
Woburn  Square.  If  he  had  looked  the  other  way  as 
he  came  out  of  his  house  he  would  have  seen  his  son 
Lucius  coming  towards  him  not  fifty  yards  off. 
Lucius  was  very  unlike  his  father.  He  was  a  good- 
looking  boy  of  about  eighteen,  tall  and  slim,  with  blue 
eyes  and  a  pleasant  smiling  mouth  fringed  with  a  few 
fair  downy  hairs,  of  which  he  always  spoke  collectively. 
He  was  very  popular  among  his  school-fellows,  and 
Was  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  "  Lucy." 

"  Halloa !  "  he  said  to  himself  as  he  caught  sight  of 
his  father  coming  down  the  steps  of  the  parental  man- 
sion. "  Where's  the  governor  off  to,  I  wonder !  Looks 
jolly  smart,  too.  S'pose  he's  going  to  call  on  that  old 
woman.  Jove!  he's  got  a  pair  of  shiny  boots  on.  I 
say,  governor,  you're  going  it !  They're  a  bit  too  big 
for  you  though,  my  boy.  Shall  I  give  him  a  hail.'' 
Think  I  won't.  He  might  want  me  to  go  and  call  on 
the  old   iabby  with  him." 

So  Lucius  let  himself  into  the  house  and  went  up- 
stairs. As  he  passed  his  father's  room,  the  door  of 
which  was  open,  he  looked  in  and  saw  that  the  floor 
was  littered  with  the  component  parts  of  a  pair  of  boot- 
trees.  "  Didn't  know  the  governor  went  in  for  those 
luxuries,"  he  said  to  himself.  Then  a  sudden  thought 
struck  him ;  he  went  in  and  took  up  one  of  the  pieces. 
"  Well,  I'm  hanged !  "  he  said  in  a  tone  of  deep  annoy- 
ance.    "  They  are  mine.     And  he's  actually  got  on  my 


6  PETER  BINNEY 

boots.  There's  a  piece  of  nerve  for  you !  There'll  be 
a  row  when  you  ^vt  home,  young  man.  I  really  can't, 
stand  that,  you  know."  And  Lucius  went  out  of  liis 
fatlur's  room  very  much  annoyed. 

We  left  Mr.  Binney  making  his  way  towards  Woburn 
Square.  He  walked  on  until  he  came  to  a  house  with 
a  brightly-painted  blue  door,  where  he  rang  the  bell 
and  asked  if  Mrs.  Iligginbotham  was  at  home.  The 
maid  treated  him  with  the  subdued  cordiality  of  an  old 
acquaintance  and  led  him  straight  upstairs  to  Mrs. 
Higginbotham's  drawing-room,  where  her  mistress  was 
discovered  warming  her  feet  at  a  bright  fire,  and  read- 
ing the  Christian  World.  She  was  a  stout,  middle-aged 
lady,  and  wore  a  dress  of  rich  black  silk.  The  room 
wore  an  air  of  warm,  solid  comfort.  Its  decorations 
would  not  have  satisfied  the  late  Mr.  William  Morris, 
it  is  true,  but  as  they  completely  satisfied  Mrs.  Ilig- 
ginbotham, that  was  not  a  matter  of  great  impor- 
tance. 

"  Dear  me,  Mr.  Binney,  tliis  is  very  kind  of  you," 
said   Mrs.   Iligginbotham,   rising   to   greet   her   visitor. 

Mr.  Binney  shook  hands  with  her  and  took  the  chair 
to  which  she  had  motioned  him.  lie  did  not  speak,  but 
the  compressed  upper  lip  and  the  thoughtful  look  with 
which  he  regarded  Mrs.  HIgglnbotham  caused  a  slight 
fluttering  in  that  lady's  ample  bosom.  With  a  woman's 
instinct  she  immediately  knew  as  surely  as  if  he  had 
already   told  her   what  he   had   come   to   say.     "  He's 


MR.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND        7 

going  to  do  it  to-daj,"  she  said  to  herself,  and  true 
to  the  tactics  of  her  sex  she  set  herself  at  once  to  ward 
off  the  critical  moment  as  long  as  possible.  She  plunged 
into  conversation  of  the  sprightly  religious  order,  for 
Mrs.  Higginbotham  was  a  good  woman  and  could  talk 
by  the  hour  together  of  preachers  and  movements  and 
causes,  in  which  conversation  Mr.  Binney  was  quite 
capable  of  holding  his  own,  for  he  and  Mrs.  Higgin- 
botham sat  under  the  same  preacher  and  held  the  same 
theological  views.  There  was  another  point  in  com- 
mon between  them,  and  while  Mrs.  Higginbotham  is 
struggling  to  maintain  a  bright  and  lively  conversation, 
to  which  Mr.  Binney  replies  only  by  terse  monosyllables, 
there  will  be  time  to  explain  what  this  was. 

Both  Mr.  Binney  and  Mrs.  Higginbotham  had  a  soul 
above  their  surroundings.  In  the  case  of  Mr.  Binney 
this  has  already  been  indicated  by  the  way  in  which, 
while  conducting  his  business  on  the  most  approved 
lines  of  commercial  progress,  he  essayed  to  import  into 
it  something  better  and  nobler  than  the  mere  pushing 
of  his  wares  and  the  piling  up  of  a  fortune.  Those 
cartoons  from  Raphael  had  infused  a  love  of  art  into 
many  humble  homes,  and  not  a  few  minds  had  been  en- 
riched by  the  perusal  of  Binney's  Shakespeare  (a  play 
given  away  with  every  sack  of  his  food  for  poultry), 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  deterioration  of  eyesight 
brought  about  by  the  quality  of  paper  and  print  with 
which  those  masterpieces  were  issued  was  a  very  small 


8  PETER  BINXEY 

matter   in    considcrution   of   the   mtntal   cnli/^htcnment 
which  hatl  been  diffused  throughout  tlie  country. 

Mrs.  Iligginbothanrs  aspirations  were  not  of  so  edu- 
cational a  diaracter.  Her  literary  yearnings  were 
satisfied  by  the  weekly  ap{)earance  of  the  Family  Herald 
Supplement,  to  wliich  event  she  looked  forward  regu- 
larly with  great  pleasure.  That  excellent  periodical 
never  made  its  appearance  in  her  drawing-room,  al- 
though sundry  works  of  fiction  from  the  lending  library 
round  the  corner,  dealing  with  the  habits  and  customs  of 
the  aristocracy,  did.  Mrs.  Higginbotham's  father  had 
been  a  draper  in  a  small  way  of  business,  and  her  hus- 
band, beginning  life  in  her  father's  shop,  by  the  time 
he  died  liad  become  a  draper  in  a  very  large  way. 
Wealth  and  luxury  hud  been  Mrs.  Higginbotham's  lot 
for  many  years,  but  what  she  yearned  for  was  the 
larger,  freer  life  led  by  those  happy  beings  of  whom 
she  read  in  her  chosen  novels.  To  be  able  to  look  upon 
a  lord  without  blinking;  to  be  able  to  look  upon  lords 
every  day  of  your  life;  to  have  it  said  in  a  newspaper, 
-I  saw  Mrs.  'Fluffy'  Higginbotham "  (Fluffy  had 
been  the  term  of  endearment  enjoyed  by  the  late  Mr. 
Higginbotham)  "sitting  under  the  Achilles  Statue  in 
a  plum-coloured  gown  with  lettuce-green  revers;  "  to 
have  cards  of  invitation  pouring  in,  every  other  one 
illuminated  by  a  title;  to  regard  the  liOndon  season  as 
something  more  than  the  time  of  year  when  the  days 
Were  getting  longer  and  it  would  soon  be  time  to  think 


MR.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND         9 

about  going  to  the  seaside — comfortable  as  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham's  circumstances  were,  her  life  had  been 
singularly  devoid  of  these  delights. 

And  this  was  not  all.  Mrs.  Higginbotham  was  ro- 
mantic. She  revelled  in  a  love-story.  She  adored  the 
Apollo-like  heroes  of  her  favourite  fiction  with  an  un- 
grudging wealth  of  admiration,  and  she  envied  hardly 
less  the  blushing  heroines  on  whom  they  lavished  the 
stores  of  their  magnificent  affections.  Mrs.  Higgin- 
botham felt  that  it  ought  to  be  the  lot  of  every  girl 
to  be  a  blushing  heroine  at  one  time  of  her  life.  She 
felt  that  she  herself  had  been  unjustly  deprived  of  that 
privilege,  although  she  had  been  an  attractive  girl,  and, 
if  she  read  the  expression  in  Peter  Binney's  eyes 
rightly,  was  attractive  still.  The  late  Mr.  Higgin- 
botham had  been  a  good  husband  to  her,  but  his  actual 
proposal  had  been  of  the  "  Here  I  am — Take  me  if  you 
like — If  you  don't  there  are  plenty  that  will,  and  only 
too  glad  to  get  the  chance  "  order.  She  had  taken 
him,  but  he  had  never  satisfied  the  romantic  cravings  of 
her  nature.  She,  on  her  part,  had  been  a  good  wife 
to  him,  but  so  far  as  she  was  aware  he  had  never, 
from  first  to  last,  regarded  her  as  a  heroine,  or  if  he 
had  he  had  never  shown  it. 

Would  Peter  Binney  do  more.?  Was  it  too  late  to 
hope  that  a  whiff  of  the  fragrant  breezes  of  romance 
might  yet  blow  upon  her?  Mrs.  Higginbotham  scarcely 
knew.     There  was  a  something  in  the  little  man  that; 


10  PETER  BINNEY 

inclined  her  to  think  that  lie  would  not  be  averse  to 
dally  in  the  Indian  summer  of  a  romantic  courtship 
if  she  made  it  quite  plain  to  him  that  that  was  what 
she  required;  and  there  was  a  something,  in  spite  of 
his  diminutive  stature  and  the  byegone  forty-five  years 
of  his  successful  life,  in  the  fire  of  his  eye  and  in  his 
erect  and  proud  bearing,  that  whispered  to  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham's  heart  that  she  might,  by  guarding  the  sen- 
sation with  extreme  care,  bring  herself  to  regard  him 
as  a  very  good  substitute  for  the  youthful  adorer  who 
it  was  almost  too  much  to  hope  would  come  forward 
at  this  time  of  day. 

While  these  questions  passed  through  her  mind,  Mrs. 
Higginbotham  went  on  talking,  and  Mr.  Binney,  an- 
swering her  without  knowing  in  the  least  what  she 
was  talking  about,  mentally  braced  himself  up  for  the 
proposal  he  was  about  to  make.  At  last  he  broke  into 
the  middle  of  one  of  Mrs.  Hifrjrinbotham's  sentences 
and  said  in  a  firm  and  resolute  voice,  "Mrs.  Higgin- 
botham, ma'am." 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  saw  that  the  time  had  come,  and 
gave  up  the  struggle. 

"Yes,  Mr.  Binney?"  she  said  in  as  cool  a  tone  as 
she  could  muster. 

"  I  am  not  so  young  as  I  was,  ma'am,"  said  Mr. 
Binney. 

"  We  are  none  of  us  that,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham. 
"  At  least  not  people  at  our  time  of  life." 


MR.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND       11 

"  You  have  no  reason  to  complain,  ma'am,"  said  Mr. 
Binney  gallantly. 

"  My  heart  is  young,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham, 
greatly  pleased  at  the  compliment,  "  and  if  I  am  not 
very  much  mistaken,  yours  is  also." 

"  I  hope  it  is,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  greatly  pleased  in 
his  turn ;  "  and  on  that  account  I  have  a  proposal  to 
make  to  you,  ma'am,  which  I  hope  you  will  consider 
favourably." 

"  I'm  sure  I  shall  do  that,  whatever  it  is,"  said  Mrs. 
Higginbotham  comfortably. 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  Mr.  Binney  again.  "  The  fact  is, 
ma'am,  that  I  have  long  regarded  you  with  feelings  of 
interest,  which  have  in  the  course  of  time  developed 
into  feelings  of  affection.  I  can  scarcely  hope  that 
those  feelings  are  returned,  but  I  should  wish  to  ask, 
ma'am,  if  there  is  any  chance  in  the  near  or  distant 
future  that  they  might  be." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Binney !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Higginbotham 
with  a  lively  recollection  of  the  heroines  of  fiction. 
"  This  is  so  sudden." 

"  It  is,  ma'am,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  I  am  aware  of 
that.  This  sort  of  thing  must  be  sudden  at  some  time 
or  another,  if  it  is  to  result  in  bus —  I  mean  if  any- 
thing is  to  come  of  it.  I  don't  wish  to  press  you  for 
an  answer  yet.  I  merely  wish  to  lay  my  ideas  before 
you.  I  might  say  that  I  wish  to  marry  again  in  order 
to    obtain    those    advantages    which — er — which    come 


U  PETER  BINNEY 

from  marrying  again.  I  might  say  that  I  want  an 
agreeable  companion  to  sit  at  the  head  of  my  table, 
to  entertain  me  with  her  society  in  my  leisure  hours, 
and  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  mother  to  my  only  son. 
I  do  want  that,  but  that  is  not  all.  I  have  worked 
hard  all  my  life,  ma'am,  and  am  now  a  comparatively 
rich  man.  But  I  have  had  very  little  pleasure  in  my 
life.  I  married  my  first  wife  to  please  her.  I  want  to 
marry  my  second  to  please  viysdf.  And  I  want  above  all 
to  impart  into  the  affair  some  of  that — er — glamour, 
which,  in  my  opinion,  should  envelop  all  courtship.  I 
therefore  come  to  you,  ma'am,  an  agreeable  and  charm- 
ing woman,  and  ask  you,  not  to  accept  me  as  a  man 
of  good  position  able  to  offer  you  a  comfortable  home, 
which  I  am  aware  you  have  already,  but  as  a  man  who, 
although  no  longer  young,  is  younger  than  a  good  many 
people,  and  who  loves  you  for  yourself  alone,  and  would 
like  to  take  an  opportunity  of  proving  it." 

Could  Mrs.  Higginbotham  believe  her  ears?  If  Peter 
Binney  liad  asked  her  to  marry  him  in  the  way  he  had 
suggested,  and  scouted,  she  would  have  accepted  him 
with  a  slgli  for  lost  illusions  now  no  longer  tenable. 
But  it  really  seemed  as  if  that  romance  for  which  the 
poor  lady  had  so  longed  was  going  to  be  opened  up 
for  her,  and  an  ardent  swain,  in  the  person  of  Peter 
Binney,  Manufacturer  of  Poultry  Food,  was  ready  to 
throw  himself  at  her   feet  and  plead   for  her  favour. 


JVm.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND       IS 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  could  scarcely  yet  grasp  the 
happiness  that  seemed  to  be  dawning  on  her  hori- 
zon. 

"Do  you  really  love  me  for  myself,  Mr.  Binney?" 
she  asked  with  faltering  lips. 

"  Say  Peter,"  corrected  Mr.  Binney. 

"  Peter,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham  submissively,  with 
a  delicious  thrill. 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  that  gentleman.  *'  But  I  don't 
want  you  to  accept  me  in  a  hurry,  you  know,"  he  added 
hastily.  "  I  want  you  to  try  me,  to  prove  me,  to  see 
what  I'm  made  of."  He  slapped  his  little  breast  with 
a  determined  air,  and  looked  round  the  room  as  if  in 
search  of  some  object  by  means  of  which  he  might  be 
proved  on  the  spot. 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  might  have  replied  that  she  knew 
him  tolerably  well  already,  having  met  him  with  some 
frequency  for  the  last  twenty  years.  But  his  attitude 
caused  her  such  a  degree  of  pleasure  that  she  was  by 
no  means  prepared  to  spoil  the  sensation  by  reminding 
him  of  that  fact.  At  the  same  time  she  was  a  little 
nervous  and  flurried.  She  had  all  the  will  in  the  world 
to  prove  him,  but  she  didn't  quite  know  how  to  set  about 
it.  If  there  had  been  a  crusade  handy  she  might  have 
sent  him  off  to  that,  but  she  could  think  of  no  nineteenth 
century  substitute  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  Mr. 
Binney  had  been  a  Volunteer  in  his  youth,  as  he  had 


1-t  PETER  BINNEY 

often  told  her,  but  he  was  one  no  longer,  so  she  could 
not  set  him  to  watch  his  accoutrements  all  night  in  a 
church.  Besides,  Mr.  Binney  went  to  chapel,  and  the 
minister  wouldn't  have  liked  it.  She  didn't  really  quite 
know  what  he  did  want,  but  fortunately  Mr.  Binney 
himself  came  to  the  rescue  and  made  himself  a  little 
clearer. 

"  Now,  Mrs.  Iligglnbotham,"  he  began.  "  By-the- 
bye,  may  I  call  you  Martha?  " 

"  Yes,  do,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham. 

"  Now,  my  dear  Martha,"  began  Mr.  Binney  again, 
"  what  you  have  got  to  do  is  to  tell  me  what  in  your 
opinion  the  behaviour  of  an  ideal  lover  should  be,  and 
what  /  have  got  to  do  is  to  endeavour  to  the  best  of 
my  ability  to  act  up  to  your  opinion." 

"  Well,  Peter,"  began  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  "  I  must 
confess  that  I  have  always  wished  that  I  had  had  in 
my  youth  a  devoted  lover  who  should  be  something  of 
a  hero." 

"  Quite  so,  quite  so,"  assented  Mr.  Binney  with  an 
energetic  nod.  "  I  shall  do  my  best  to  be  that,  my  very 
best." 

"  One,"  continued  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  "  whom  I 
could  admire  for  —  cr  —  manliness  and  —  cr  —  light- 
heartedness,  and — er — beauty,  both  of  form  and 
feature." 

"  Exactly  so,"  nodded  her  wooer. 

*'  One  who  would  regard  me  as  the  most  beautiful — 


MR.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND       15 

er — female  in  the  world;  not  that  I  should  be  that,  of 
course,  but  I  should  like  him  to  think  so." 

"  Of  course,  of  course,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  Quite 
natural." 

"  And  who  would  try  to  make  little  opportunities  of 
meeting  me,  and  being  where  I  was." 

"  Exactly,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  who  had  been  admitted 
into  Mrs.  Higginbotham's  house  any  time  these  last 
twenty  years  whenever  he  liked  to  present  himself. 

"  Whose  heart  would  beat  quicker  when  he  did  see 
me,  and  who  would  be  quite  rewarded  for  any  trouble 
he  might  have  taken  over  the  matter  by  seeing  me." 

"  I  quite  see,  ma'am,  I  quite  see,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  The  truth  of  it  is,  you  want  to  renew  your  youth,  I 
take  it.  Not  that  it  requires  much  renewing,"  he  added 
gallantly. 

"Oh,  Peter!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Higginbotham  coyly. 

"  And  I  want  to  renew  mi/  youth,  Martha,"  continued 
Mr.  Binney  with  some  fervour.  "  I've  worked  very  hard 
ever  since  I  was  a  boy,  as  you  know,  and  I  never  had 
the  fun  that  I  should  like  to  have  had,  or  that  the 
young  fellows  I  see  about  me  now  have — my  son,  for 
instance." 

"  Dear  boy,"  murmured  Mrs.  Higginbotham. 

"  Dear  boy,  certainly,"  acquiesced  Mr.  Binney,  "  and 
lucky  boy,  too,  Martha.  Look  what  I've  done  for  that 
boy.  I've  sent  him  to  Eton,  where  /  never  had  a  chance 
of  going,  or  anywhere  like  it.     Why,  Martha,  life  is 


16  PETER  BINNEY 

one  continuous  round  of  pleasure  at  Eton.  And  now 
he  is  going  to  Cambridge.  There's  a  place  for  you! 
Why,  I  assure  you,  you  could  hardly  believe  the  fun 
that  young  fellows  have  at  a  place  like  Cambridge." 

"  Yes,  I  can.  I've  read  books  about  it,"  said  Mrs. 
Higginbotiiam,  "  and  I  had  a  nephew  there  once  who 
used  to  tell  me  things.  Ah,  Mr.  Binney,  if  I  were  only 
what  I  used  to  be  twenty  years  ago,  and  you  were  at 
Cambridge !  " 

"  Pooh,  Martha,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  You  weren't 
half  so  attractive  as  you  are  now,  I'll  be  bound.  And 
as  for  me,  though  I  am  forty-five,  I'm  as  active  as  ever 
and  could  hold  up  my  head  with  the  best  of  them." 

"  I  know  you  could,  Peter,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotiiam. 

"  Now,  Martha,  I've  got  something  in  my  mind,'* 
said  Mr.  Binney.  "  It's  been  there  for  some  time,  but 
I  haven't  liked  to  mention  it  to  you  because  I  was 
afraid — well,  I  didn't  know  how  you  might  take  it. 
But  really,  you've  taken  what  I  have  said  in  such  a 
way  as — as  to  be  extremely  gratif3'ing  to  me,  and  upon 
my  word  I  don't  believe  you'll  think  my  idea  so  very 
absurd  after  all." 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  looked  at  him  with  deep  interest 
depicted  in  her  face. 

Mr.  Binney  squared  himself  and  sat  up  in  his  chair. 
"  Lucius  is  going  to  Cambridge  in  October,"  lie  said. 
*'  Now  what  do  you  say  to  my  going  with  him?  " 

Mrs.    Iligginbotham's    look    of    interest    gradually 


MR.  BINNEY  MAKES  UP  HIS  MIND       17 

brightened  into  one  of  delighted  agreement.  "  Oh, 
Peter,"  she  said,  "  if  you  only  could !  Isn't  it  too 
late?" 

"  Not  a  bit,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  There's  no  limit 
of  age.  I  found  that  out  long  ago.  I  could  go  up 
there  and  be  treated  in  all  respects  as  if  I  was  five-and- 
twenty  years  younger  than  I  am.  And  do  you  know, 
Martha,"  added  the  little  man  confidentially,  "  such  is 
my  freshness  of  mind  that  I  believe  in  time  I  should 
come  to  believe  that  I  was  five-and-twenty  years 
younger." 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  looked  at  him  in  speechless  ad- 
miration. "  It  would  be  lovely,"  she  said.  "  What  an 
interest  I  should  take  in  your  doings,  Peter !  " 

This  speech  was  as  a  spark  to  the  tinder  of  Mr.  Bin- 
ney's  inclinations.  "  If  you  think  about  it  like  that, 
Martha,  I'll  do  it,"  he  cried  delightedly.  "  And  now 
I  must  be  getting  home.  I'll  have  a  talk  to  Lucius 
about  it  to-night,  and  come  and  tell  you  what  I  have 
decided  to-morrow." 

Mr.  Binney  took  a  tender  farewell  of  Mrs.  Higgin- 
botham, and  left  her  to  spend  the  evening  in  roseate 
dreams  of  returning  youth  and  a  wider  horizon  than 
that  visible  from  her  windows  in  Woburn  Square. 


CHAPTER  II 

MK.  BIXNEY  INTERVIEWS  ONE  TUTOR  AND  ENGAGES 

ANOTHER 

Mr.  Binney  and  his  son  sat  over  their  wine  that  evening 
in  the  seclusion  of  the  dining-room  in  Russell  Square. 
Mr.  Binney  had  been  somewhat  silent  during  dinner, 
tliinking  over  the  disclosure  he  was  about  to  make. 
Somehow,  now  that  it  came  to  the  point,  he  felt  a  cer- 
tain diffidence  in  mentioning  it.  Lucius  also  had  some- 
thing to  say,  but  waited  until  the  servants  were  out  of 
the  room. 

"  I  say,  father,"  he  said,  when  they  were  left  alone, 
"  I've  ordered  a  new  pair  of  patent  leather  boots  from 
Peal's,  and  asked  them  to  send  the  bill  in  to  you." 

Mr.  Binney,  immersed  in  his  thoughts,  had  forgotten 

the  occurrence  of  the  afternoon,  or  he  would  not  have 

rushed  with  such  haste  to  his  own  destruction.     ""  Bill 

into  mc,  Lucius?"  he  exclaimed  angrily.     "What  do 

you   mean."*     You've   got   your   own   allowance,   and    a 

very  handsome  one  it  is.      I'm  not  going  to  pay  your 

bills  for  you  besides.     If  it  comes  into  me  I  shall  tear 

it  up." 

*'  You've  got  your  own  boots,"  retorted  Lucius,  "  and 

18 


MR.  BIXNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR         19 

very  handsome  ones  they  are.  If  you  take  a  fancy  to 
mine  I  don't  mind  you  wearing  them  a  bit,  only  I  haven't 
got  enough  for  us  both,  so  I  thought  you  wouldn't  mind 
my  getting  another  pair,  as  I  can't  do  without." 

"H'm!  Ah!  yes!"  said  Mr.  Binney,  a  trifle  con- 
fused. "  No,  I  don't  mind  really,  my  boy,  though  I 
don't  think  there  are  many  fathers  who  would  take  it 
like  that." 

"  There  aren't  many  fathers  who  would  take  their 
sons'  boots,"  said  Lucius.  "  By  the  way,  father,  talk- 
ing about  allowances,  what  allowance  are  you  going  to 
make  me  at  Cambridge?  " 

"  Ah,  Cambridge !  "  echoed  Mr.  Binney,  as  if  that 
ancient  seat  of  learning  had  just  been  brought  to  his 
notice  for  the  first  time.  "  Yes,  we  must  talk  about 
Cambridge." 

"  I  should  like  to  have  it  settled  before  I  go  back 
to  Eton  for  my  last  half,  if  you  don't  mind,"  said 
Lucius.  "  A  lot  of  my  friends  are  going  up,  and  we 
shall  be  sure  to  be  talking  over  it  a  good  deal.  I 
should  like  to  know  what  I  shall  be  able  to  do  and  what 
I  shan't." 

"  You  ought  to  think  yourself  very  lucky  to  be  going 
to  Cambridge  at  all,"  said  Mr.  Binney  with  a  shake 
of  the  head.  "  I  never  had  the  chance  of  going  to 
Cambridge  when  I  was  a  young  fellow." 

"  Oh,  I  daresay  It's  a  jolly  enough  place,"  said 
Lucius,   "  although   I   shall  be   sorry  to   leave   Eton. 


20  PETER  BINNEY 

Still,  it  isn't  all  fun,  you  know,  father.     There's  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  work  to  be  done." 

"  Work !  Of  course  there  is,"  said  Mr,  Binncy. 
"But  -uhat  work!  Think  of  being  able  to  carry  on 
your  education  till  you're  twenty-two  or  thereabouts. 
It's  a  grand  thing,  education.  I  never  had  any  my- 
self, at  least  not  what  you  would  call  education,  al- 
though I  flatter  myself  I  know  as  much  as  most  people." 

"  Oh,  yes,  father,"  said  Lucius.  "  Why,  bless  me, 
you've  edited  the  text  of  Shakespeare." 

"  H'm,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  on  whom  a  certain 
amount  of  adverse  comment  had  bred  a  measure  of 
distrust  in  this  feat.  He  took  a  gulp  of  port.  "  We've 
always  been  friends,  my  boy,  you  and  I,  haven't  we.?  " 
he  continued  rather  nervously. 

"  Friends,  father.?  "  said  Lucius.  "  Why,  of  course. 
I  should  think  so." 

"  You  might,  perhaps,  almost  say  that  we  are  more 
like  brothers  than  father  and  son,"  pursued  Mr. 
Binney. 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  should  go  quite  so  far  as  that," 
said  Lucius.  "  But  we  always  get  on  very  well  to- 
gether, don't  we.?  " 

"  Yes,  that  is  what  I  meant,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  Now  I've  got  an  idea,  which  may  be  a  little  unusual." 
("Not  at  all,"  murmured  Lucius  politely.)  "But  I 
hope  you'll  fall  in  with  it.  At  least  when  I  say,  1 
hope,  it  doesn't  matter  a  fig  whether  you  do  or  not. 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        81 

I'm  not  going  to  be  dictated  to  by  my  son,  though  he 
has  been  to  a  public  school  and  I  haven't.  Who  sent 
him  there?  " 

"  Why,  you  did,  of  course,  father,"  said  Lucius.  "  I 
don't  want  to  dictate  to  you.  What  is  your  idea.? 
That  I  shall  go  into  the  business  when  I  come  down 
from  Cambridge.?  " 

"  That  you'll  do,  of  course,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  I 
hope  you  know  on  which  side  your  bread's  buttered, 
and  who  buttered  it  for  you.  No,  my  idea  is  about 
myself.  I  have  worked  very  hard  until  now,  but  I 
haven't  had  the  time  for  self -improvement  that  I  should 
have  liked.  Now,  what  I  propose  to  do  is  to  take  three 
years  holiday  off  business  and  go  up  to  Cambridge 
with  you  in  October.     What  do  you  think  of  that.?  " 

"What  Lucius  thought  of  it  might  have  been  ac- 
curately gathered  from  the  length  of  his  face.  All 
power  of  speech  seemed  to  have  left  him.  He  could 
only  sit  with  open  mouth  staring  at  his  father,  and 
this  demeanour  instantly  set  up  the  comb  of  that  pep- 
pery little  bantam. 

"  Well,  well,  what  have  you  got  to  say?  ^Vliy  don't 
you  speak?  "  he  cried,  with  some  heat. 

Suddenly  Lucius  lay  back  in  his  chair,  and  gave  vent 
to  a  loud,  but  entirely  mirthless,  peal  of  laughter. 
"That's  a  good  joke,  father,"  he  said.  "Gad!  you 
are  a  ripper.  Won't  the  fellows  laugh  when  I  tell 
'em?" 


n  TETER  BINNEY 

This  behaviour  sccnicd  to  have  a  very  ill  effect  on 
the  circulation  of  Mr.  Binncy's  blood,  wliich  flew  into 
his  head  to  such  an  extent  that  his  face  got  as  red  as  a 
tomato, 

"  What  do  you  mean,  sir?  "  he  cried  angrily.  *'  It 
isn't  a  joke  at  all.  Why  should  the  fellows  laugh,  I 
should  like  to  know?  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  sir,  you're 
ashamed  of  your  father,  you  ungrateful  young  snob. 
Wliere  would  you  have  been,  I  should  like  to  know,  if 
I  hadn't  made  my  fortune  and  sacrificed  myself  to  give 
you  a  good  education?  Sweeping  a  shop,  I  dare  say, 
or  a  clerk  on  ten  shillings  a  week.  That's  what  you 
would  have  been,  my  fine  fellow,  and  a  good  deal  too 
good  for  you,  too,  you  idle  young " 

"  Steady  on,  father,"  interposed  Lucius,  now  quite 
serious  again.  "  I'm  not  ashamed  of  you,  you  know 
that  quite  well — there's  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of — 
but  I  didn't  think  you  could  mean  it,  really.  You 
can't  mean  it,  you  know,  why  it's  ridic — it's  out  of 
the  question." 

"  WJiT/  is  it  out  of  the  question,  sir?  "  asked  Mr. 
Binney.     "  Why  is  it  out  of  the  question?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Lucius,  "  look  what  a  precious  pair 
of  fools  we  shall  look." 

"  You  may,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  I  dare  say  you 
will.  I  can't  help  your  looking  anything  you  please. 
But  I  flatter  myself  there's  nothing  particularly  foolish 
looking  about  me,  is  there?     7s  there,  I  say?" 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        23 

"  Oh,  no,  nothing  at  all,"  Lucius  made  haste  to 
reply,  "  but  I  should  think  there  would  be  if  you  went 
up  to  Cambridge  as  an  undergraduate — something 
precious  foolish.  I  suppose  you  mean  to  take  a  house 
there,  though,  or  something,  and  enter  at  some  small 
college  where  they  won't  worry  you." 

"  I  intend  to  do  nothing  of  the  sort,  sir,"  said  Mr. 
Binney.  "  I  shall  enter  myself  at  Trinity.  It  is,  I 
believe,  the  best  college  at  Cambridge.  You  chose  it 
yourself.  And  I  have  no  intention  of  taking  a  house. 
I  shall  live  in  the  college,  and  comport  myself  in  the 
same  way  as  the  steady  young  men  with  whom  I,  and 
you,  too,  I  hope,  expect  to  associate." 

"  Oh,  Lord !  "  groaned  Lucius.  "  Are  we  to  go  about 
together  as  steady  young  men?  Well,  you  can't  get 
into  Trinity,  you  know,  that's  one  comfort.  The  en- 
trance examination  is  over  and  you  couldn't  pass  it  if 
it  wasn't." 

"  Couldn't  pass  it,  sir !  You  little  know  either  your 
father's  ability  or  determination.  And  it  is  not  over. 
There  is  another  in  October,  for  which  I  shall  present 
myself." 

"  You'll  have  your  work  cut  out  for  you  to  get  ready 
for  it.  I  suppose  you'll  go  to  school  for  a  term.  I 
should  go  to  Johnson's  at  Margate  if  I  were  you,  where 
you  sent  me — you  see  you're  just  over  age  for  a  public 
school — they'll  take  you  as  a  parlour-boarder,  and  I 


iti  TETER  BIXNEY 

should  tliink  you  might  get  the  good-conduct  prize  if 
you're  carefuL" 

"  That's  right,  sir,"  said  Peter  bitterly.  "  Pour 
scorn  on  your  own  father,  who  has  given  you  all  the 
advantages  you  ever  had.  Of  course,  you're  a  gentle- 
man. You've  been  to  Eton  and  you're  going  to 
Trinity,  Yet  you  grudge  me  having  my  little  bit  of 
education,  though  I  pay  for  both." 

"  Oil,  blow  the  education,  father.  Why  don't  you 
stew  up  for  London  University,  and  live  comfortably 
at  home?  " 

"  Because  I  choose  to  *  stew  up  '  for  Cambridge  Uni- 
versit}',  sir,  and  let  that  be  an  end  of  the  matter. 
You'll  find  there  will  only  be  one  of  us  there  if  you're 
not  precious  careful,  and  it  won't  be  you." 

Poor  Lucius  went  to  bed  that  night  with  a  heavy 
heart.  He  had  rowed  for  one  year  in  the  Eton  eight, 
and  wore  with  great  satisfaction  a  flannel  coat  of  light 
blue.  He  had  hitherto  looked  forward  with  pleasure 
to  his  career  at  Cambridge,  with  the  hope  of  wearing 
another  light  blue  coat  of  a  slightly  different  cut  and 
shade  of  colour  in  the  course  of  it.  Now  a  dark  cloud 
had  arisen  to  obscure  the  happy  azure  of  his  mental 
horizon. 

"  If  he's  going  to  be  such  a  fool  as  to  go  up,"  he  said 
to  himself  as  he  undressed,  "  I'm  hanged  if  /  will.  I'll 
go  to  Oxford  instead,  although  all  the  chaps   I  know 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        85 

best  are  going  to  the  other  shop,  and  I  shan't  like  it 
half  as  weU." 

He  broached  this  proposition  to  his  father  the  next 
morning  at  breakfast,  hoping  all  the  time  that  he  had 
given  up  his  intention.  But  Mr.  Binney  was  more  than 
ever  confirmed  in  it,  having  spent  a  happy  night  in 
dreams  of  glorious  youthful  feats  to  be  laid  at  the  feet 
of  the  fair  Mrs.  Higginbotham ;  and  Lucius's  idea  was 
received  so  badly  that  he  relinquished  it  at  once,  and 
made  up  his  mind  ruefully  that  he  should  either  have 
to  go  to  Cambridge  with  his  father  as  his  close  com- 
panion, or  not  go  at  all.  He  went  back  to  Eton  the 
next  day  with  all  his  pleasure  in  the  coming  half  spoilt 
by  the  dark  fate  that  was  hanging  over  him,  his  only 
consolation  being  the  recollection  of  the  difficulty  of 
the  Trinity  entrance  examination,  which  it  had  taken 
him  all  his  time  to  get  through,  although  his  work  for 
the  last  ten  years  had  led  directly  up  to  it. 

"  Of  course  he  can't  do  the  work  by  October,"  he  said 
to  himself.  "  He  doesn't  know  a  word  of  Greek  and 
only  about  three  of  Latin." 

And  this  consolation  had  to  suffice  him,  for  he  knew 
his  father  well  enough  to  realise  that  if  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  do  this  thing,  and  it  was  in  him  to  do 
it,  do  it  he  would.  Moreover,  on  the  day  he  had  left 
Russell  Square  for  Eton  he  had  seen  a  letter  on  the 
haU-table  addressed  in  his  father's  handwriting  to  the 


26  TETEIl  BINNEY 

tutor  on  whose  side  he  liimsclf  was  entered  at  Trinity, 
and  blushed  to  think  of  what  it  contained. 

Lucius's  tutor,  who  was  the  most  popular  in  the  col- 
lege, wrote  to  say  that  his  own  side  was  full,  but  that 
his  colleague,  Mr.  Riniington,  still  had  a  few  vacancies. 
So  Peter  wrote  to  Mr.  Rimington  and  received  a  reply 
requesting  him  to  go  up  to  Cambridge  for  a  personal 
interview. 

Peter  travelled  to  Cambridge  the  same  evening  and 
put  up  at  the  "  B\dl."     After  dinner  he  went  out  to 
make  his  first  acquaintance  with  a  University  town.     It 
was  a  lovely  April  evening.     The  deep  violet  of  the  twi- 
light sky  revealed  the  irregular  roofs  and  towers  of  the 
old  buildings.     There  was  a  half  foreign  air  about  the 
clean  paved  streets  with  the  open  rivoilets  running  along 
the   pavements.     Peter  walked   up  King's  Parade  and 
viewed  with  awe  the  pile  of  the  famous  chapel  of  King's, 
past  the  University  Library  and  the  Senate  House,  and 
the  modern  pretentious  fa9ade  of  Caius  College,  con- 
ceived and  executed  in  the  best  Insurance  office  style 
of  architecture,  and  into  the  narrow,  noisy  little  Trinity 
Street.     The  streets  were  full  of  men  in  caps  and  gowns, 
and  a  few  still  in  flannels  and  straw  hats.     Mr.  Binney 
wondered  how  these  latter  could  walk  along  so  uncon- 
cernedly when  they  might  at  any  comer  run  straight 
into  the  arms  of  a  perambulating  Proctor.     He  was  so 
imbued  with  the  idea  of  himself  as   a  budding  under- 
graduate that  he  half  expected   to  be  taken   for  one, 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        27 

and  felt  quite  nervous  when  he  did  meet  a  Proctor  a 
little  later  on,  lest  he  should  be  asked  for  his  name  and 
college.  He  was  a  little  disappointed  when  that  func- 
tionary passed  him  without  comment,  but  so  reverential 
were  his  feelings  towards  one  who  held  such  high  office 
in  the  University  that  he  could  not  refrain  from  taking 
off  his  hat  to  him,  a  salute  which  the  Proctor  gravely 
returned,  much  to  Mr.  Binney's  gratification.  He 
would  perhaps  have  been  less  gratified  if  he  had  known 
that  the  great  man,  who  was  not  accustomed  to  re- 
ceiving respectful  greetings  from  middle-aged  gentle- 
men, took  him  for  a  subservient  tradesman  whose  face 
he  happened  to  have  forgotten. 

When  Mr.  Binney  turned  into  the  open  space  in 
front  of  Trinity  College  and  passed  through  the  noble 
gateway  into  the  Great  Court,  his  heart  swelled  with 
pride  as  he  stood  and  looked  round  him.  The  twilight 
had  deepened  into  night,  and  the  court  lay  quiet  and 
spacious  under  the  stars.  Opposite  to  him  stood  the 
hall,  its  painted  windows  shining  brightly  through  the 
dusk.  To  Its  right  lay  the  Master's  lodge,  which  Mr. 
Binney  had  been  told  was  also  a  royal  palace,  and  in 
front  of  it  plashed  the  fountain  underneath  its  graceful 
canopy  of  stone.  To  his  right  was  the  dark  mass  of 
the  closed  chapel,  and  all  round  the  court  stretched 
the  long  low  buildings  with  their  lighted  windows  and 
busy  staircases,  their  modest  regularity  broken  up  by 
the   three   gate   towers,   the   hall,   the  lodge,    and   the 


28  PETER  BINNEY 

cluipcl.  A  little  group  of  chatty  dons  came  towards 
him  from  the  combination  room,  across  the  sacred 
grass,  one  of  them  in  all  the  bravery  of  a  scarlet  gown, 
and  passed  out  through  the  gate.  A  porter  touched 
his  hat  to  them  and  Mr.  Binney  felt  that  he  could  have 
done  the  same  with  pleasure.  Towards  the  undergrad- 
uates who  went  to  and  fro  in  the  court,  along  the  flagged 
pathways,  his  feelings  were  less  reverential,  but  more 
curious,  for  he  hoped  some  day  to  be  one  of  them. 
What  a  proud  thing  it  would  be  to  walk  on  these  very 
stones  in  a  square  cap  and  a  blue  gown  and  feel  that 
one  had  a  share  in  all  the  ancient  surrounding  glories. 
He  walked  slowly  across  the  court,  and  up  the  steps 
of  the  hall.  He  stopped  to  read  the  college  notices 
in  the  glass-covered  cases  which  hang  in  the  passage 
between  the  kitchen  and  buttery  hatches  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  carved  screen  which  gives  access  to  the 
hall  itself,  through  heavy  swing  doors,  on  the  other. 
A  crowd  of  waiters  in  their  shirt-sleeves  were  busy  be- 
tween the  two  clearing  away  the  remains  of  the  feast, 
Mr.  Binney  looked  into  the  hall  which  was  now  neaz'ly 
ready  to  be  shut  up  for  the  night.  The  massive  boards 
and  benches  of  polished  oak  ran  up  to  the  dais  in  which 
were  the  two  long  tables  where  the  dons  sit  at  their 
dinner  long  after  the  undergraduates  have  finished 
and  left  them  to  their  grandeur.  The  pictures  of  by- 
gone worthies  whom  their  college  delights  to  honour 
looked  down  on  him  solemnly  from  the  walls.     Behind 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        29 

him  was  the  beautiful  screen  with  the  gallery  above, 
from  which  the  panels  are  removed  on  state  occasions, 
when  a  bright  array  of  fair  visitors  looks  down  on  the 
"  animals  feeding."  The  lights  were  going  out  now, 
and  the  high-pitched  roof  with  its  many  rafters  was 
fading  into  dimness.  Mr.  Binney  turned  with  a  sigh 
and  went  out,  while  a  servant  locked  the  door  and  left 
the  great  hall  to  its  solitude,  with  the  moonlight  stream- 
ing in  through  the  blazoned  windows  and  the  wakeful 
eyes  of  the  departed  worthies  watching  through  the 
night. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Binney  called  on  Mr.  Riming- 
ton.  He  had  to  sit  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the 
Tutor's  ante-room,  where  half-a-dozen  undergraduates 
were  awaiting  their  turn  for  admittance,  looking  over 
the  bound  volumes  of  Punch  which  were  laid  on  the 
table  for  their  amusement.  Two  of  them  were  talking, 
and  Mr.  Binney  listened  with  open  ears  to  their  con- 
versation which  was  "  shoppy  "  in  the  extreme,  and 
all  the  more  interesting  to  him  on  that  account.  His 
appearance  caused  no  surprise,  for  fathers  do  some- 
times visit  their  son's  Tutors,  but  Mr.  Binney  thought 
that  every  one  present  would  know  what  he  had  come 
for,  and  felt  a  little  shy. 

He  was  shown  presently  into  the  inner  room,  a  hand- 
some one  with  a  beautiful  ceiling,  and  was  received  very 
kindly  by  Mr.  Rimington,  who,  however,  seemed  a  little 
nervous. 


30  PETER  BINNEY 

"  I  don't  know,  Mr.  Binncy,"  he  said,  with  some  hesi- 
tation, "  whether  I  quite  understood  your  letter.'* 
(Here  he  took  Mr.  Binney's  apphcation  from  an  orderly 
little  pile  on  his  desk.)  *'  It  seemed  to  mean  that  you 
wished  to  enter  yourself  as  an  undergraduate  of  the 
college." 

Mr.  Binney  sat  on  a  chair  before  the  Tutor  fumbling 
his  hat  between  his  knees.  "  Certainly,  sir,"  he  said, 
"  that  is  what  I  meant." 

"  There  is  an  undergraduate  of  your  name  already 
entered,  I  believe,  on  Mr.  Segrave's  side.''" 

"  Yes,  my  boy  Lucius.  He  passed  the  certificate 
examination  last  month." 

"  Quite  so.  We  are  very  glad  to  have  him  here. 
We  hope  he  may  row  in  the  boat  and  help  us  to  beat 
Oxford." 

Mr.  Binney  was  surprised  to  find  a  don  taking  an 
interest  in  such  a  frivolous  affair  as  a  boat-race,  but  it 
put  him  a  little  more  at  his  ease. 

"  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  a  man  of  my  age  enter- 
ing at  the  University,  I  suppose.''"  he  inquired. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Rimington  with  some  hesitation, 
"  not  from  our  point  of  view.  But  have  you  thought 
what  it  means,  Mr.  Binney?  It  is  a  little — er — unusual 
for  father  and  son  to  be  undergraduate  members  of 
the  same  college  at  the  same  time.  Our  rules  are  not 
at  all  Irksome  for  a  young  man — In  fact,  some  people 
think  we  allow  too  much  freedom,  although  we  find  that 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        31 

we  get  on  better  by  not  drawing  the  rein  so  tight  as 
they  do  at  some  other  colleges — but  such  as  they  are 
we  could  not  relax  them,  and  in  your  case  they  might 
very  well  prove  to  be  irksome." 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  not  at  all.  I  am 
prepared  to  take  the  rough  with  the  smooth,  and  I  can 
keep  rules,  if  they  are  sensible  rules,  as  well  as  the  young 
fellows." 

Mr.  Rimington  laughed  nervously.  "  May  I  ask 
your  reason  for  wanting  to  come  up  to  Cambridge  so — 
so  late  In  life.?"  he  asked. 

"  I  have  a  passion  for  education,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Bin- 
ney. "  I  left  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  have 
worked  hard  at  my  business  ever  since.  But  money- 
making  isn't  the  sole  interest  in  life — besides  I  have  got 
as  much  money  as  I  want.  I  wish  to  regain  some  of 
the  lost  opportunities  of  youth." 

"  Have  you  kept  up  your  classical  studies  at  all  since 
you  left  school?  "  asked  the  Tutor. 

"  I  never  learnt  any  classics,  sir,"  answered  Mr.  Bin- 
ney airily ;  "  that  has  all  to  come.  They  didn't  con- 
sider that  Latin  and  Greek  prepared  us  for  the  business 
of  life  when  I  was  a  boy." 

"  Oh !  then  I  am  afraid  It  Is  not  of  the  slightest  use 
your  attempting  to  enter  for  our  examination,"  said 
the  Tutor,  with  a  visible  shade  of  relief  overspreading 
his  face,  "  it  would  take  you  years  to  come  up  to  the 
standard  we  require." 


32  PETER  BINNEY 

"  That  is  my  affair,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binncy.  "  I  shall 
not  only  attempt  it,  I  shall  succeed.  1  liave  ability  and 
determination." 

Mr.  Rimington  looked  annoyed.  "  I  think  you  will 
find  you  are  mistaken,"  he  said.  "  However,  as  you 
say,  that  is  your  affair  and  not  mine.  But,  apart  from 
that,  I  am  not  sure,  Mr.  Binney — I  speak  quite  openly — 
that  it  is  the  kindest  course  you  could  take,  as  far  as 
your  son  is  concerned,  to  enter  at  the  same  college. 
He  comes  to  us  with  a  very  good  character,  and  we 
hope  he  will  do  us  credit.  But  it  is  likely  to  go  against 
him — I  mean  it  will  hardly  be  giving  him  a  fair  chance 
with  the  other  men  of  the  college  to  be  constantly  under 
your  supervision.  A  University  education,  you  know, 
Mr.  Binney,  is  a  valuable  training  for  a  young  man, 
because  he  begins  to  learn  to  stand  alone,  while  he  is 
not  left  entirely  alone.  Your  son  would  lose  that  ad- 
vantage, whatever  else  he  might  gain,  if  you  were  to 
be  constantly  witli  him." 

Mr.  Binney  straightened  himself  up.  Mr.  Riming- 
ton's  opposition  roused  his  fighting  business  instincts, 
which  prompted  liim  to  take  every  opportunity  of  gain- 
ing an  advantage.  "  That  again  is  a  matter  for  me 
to  decide,  sir,"  he  said.  "  Lucius  and  T  are  very  good 
friends  and  understand  one  another  thoroughly.  I 
have  given  him  advantages  of  education  that  I  never 
had,  but  when  I  put  my  foot  down  he  has  to  obey.     He 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        33 

knows  that  bj  this  time.  We  will  leave  him  out  of  the 
question,  if  you  please." 

Mr.  Rimington  again  looked  annoyed. 

"  If  you  are  determined  to  come  up  for  entrance  to 
this  college,"  he  said,  "  and  succeed  in  passing  the 
necessary  test,  which,  I  warn  you,  will  be  a  harder  mat- 
ter than  you  imagine,  you  would  find  yourself  com- 
pelled to  associate  with  men  of  very  immature  views, 
Mr.  Binney." 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  that,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  In 
fact  I  shall  enjoy  it.  I  have  presented  my  youth  and 
can  take  the  young  fellows  on  their  own  ground  and 
beat  'em." 

Mr.  Rimington  passed  his  hand  over  his  mouth. 
"  Then  I  had  better  give  you  the  necessary  papers,"  he 
said.  "  You  must  send  us  a  certificate  of  good  con- 
duct, signed  by  a  clergyman  who  has  known  you  for 
three  years." 

"  My  pastor,  the  celebrated  Dr.  Toller,  under  whose 
ministrations  I  have  sat  for  the  last  twenty  years  would 
do,  I  suppose,"  said  Mr.  Binney.     "  I  am  a  Baptist." 

"  Yes,  certainly,"  said  the  Tutor.  "  Then  there  is 
the  certificate  of  birth.  And  this  paper  will  tell  you 
all  about  the  subjects  for  examination.  I  should  advise 
you  to  engage  a  private  coach.  You  are  too  late,  of 
course,  for  the  first  examination,  but " 

"  There  is  another  in  October,"  interrupted  Mr.  Bin- 
ney.    "  I  know.     I  shall  present  myself  for  that." 


34  PETER  BINNEY 


»» 


"  Then  I  will  wish  you  good-morning,  Mr.  Binney, 
said  the  Tutor.  "  You  will  excuse  me,  but  I  have  a 
good  many  pupils  to  see."  Mr.  Rimington  summoned 
up  his  usual  amiable  smile  and  took  leave  of  Mr.  Binney 
with  a  warm  grasp  of  the  hand;  and  Mr.  Binney  went 
out  through  the  ante-room,  where  the  waiting  crowd 
had  swelled  to  unusual  proportions,  and  clattered  down 
the  oak  staircase  into  the  court,  hugging  his  precious 
sheaf  of  papers. 

In  the  Combination  Room,  that  evening,  Mr.  Riming- 
ton and  Mr.  Segrave  discussed  Mr.  Binney  over  their 
wine. 

"  I  did  my  best  to  dissuade  him,"  said  Mr.  Riming- 
ton.    "  It  is  very  hard  lines  on  the  boy." 

"  He  is  a  nice  boy,"  said  the  other.  "  Wargrave  " — 
this  was  Lucius's  house-master  at  Eton — "  says  he  is 
one  of  the  best  boys  he  has  in  his  house ;  not  at  all  bril- 
liant, but  of  excellent  character  and  a  first-rate  oar — 
just  the  sort  of  freshman  we  want,  as  we  can't  expect 
them  all  to  be  scholars.  I'm  afraid  it  will  spoil  his 
life  here  if  his  father  insists  upon  inflicting  himself  on 
us.     What  sort  of  a  man  is  he?  " 

Mr.  Rimington  laughed.  He  would  have  liked  to 
say,  "  Just  a  cocky  little  tradesman,"  but  he  was  a 
charitable  man.  "  If  I  were  the  boy,"  he  said,  "  I 
would  rather  have  him  in  London  than  at  Cambridge. 
But  I  don't  think  we  shall  see  him  at  Cambridge.  He 
left  school  thirty  years  ago  and  has  never  learnt  either 


MR.  BINNEY  ENGAGES  A  TUTOR        35 

Latin  or  Greek,  or  indeed  anything  that  we  want,  ex- 
cepting, perhaps,  arithmetic,  and  we  don't  want  much 
of  that.     Yet  he  expects  us  to  admit  him  in  October.'* 

"  Oh,  well  then,  we  may  set  our  minds  at  rest,"  said 
Mr.   Segrave.     "  But  it's  a  curious  idea  altogether." 

Mr.  Binney  had  got  back  to  Russell  Square  by  that 
time  and  was  just  then  engaged  in  writing  out  an  ad- 
vertisement for  a  resident  tutor. 


CHAPTER  III 

LUCIUS   WIXS   A   year's   RESPITE 

A  WEEK  after  Mr.  Binncy's  visit  to  Cambridge,  he  wrote 
the  following  letter  to  his  son: — 

"  My  DEAR  Lucius, — Yours  of  29th  ult.  to  hand.  I 
note  you  are  getting  on  with  jour  work  and  enjoying 
yourself.  I  have  now  relinquished  my  attendance  at 
the  office,  and  have  left  the  management  in  IMr.  Walton's 
hands,  merely  dropping  in  for  an  hour  or  two  once  a 
week  to  see  how  things  are  going.  As  far  as  I  can  see 
he  will  carry  on  the  business  well  during  my  three 
years'  absence,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  I  shall 
take  the  reins  again  and  you  will  begin  work  .there.  If 
all  goes  well  I  shall  take  you  into  partnership  a  year 
after  that,  by  which  time  you  ought  to  have  fully  mas- 
tered the  details. 

"  Re  work  for  Trinity  Entrance  Examination. 

"  I  have  started  on  above,  having  engaged  a  private 
coach.  I  had  430  answers  to  my  application.  My 
choice  fell  on  a  gentleman  named  Minshull,  a  Peter- 
house  man   who  dwells   in   the   vicinity.     He   took   his 

36 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        87 

degree  only  last  year  and  expects  to  enter  the  Church 
shortly.  He  comes  every  morning  at  nine  o'clock  and 
we  work  till  one.  He  lunches  with  me,  after  which  we 
take  a  walk  in  the  Park  or  elsewhere,  returning  for  tea 
and  another  two  hours'  work.  Then  MinshuU  leaves 
me,  and  after  a  light  dinner  I  do  preparation  for  him 
for  another  two  hours  and  then  to  bed.  On  Saturday 
we  knock  off  at  one,  and  I  generally  take  an  outing 
with  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  who  wishes  to  be  kindly  re- 
membered to  you.  She  takes  a  great  interest  in  my 
enterprise,  and  refreshes  her  memory  and  mine  during 
our  little  jaunts  by  getting  me  to  repeat  to  her  with- 
out book  such  things  as  I  have  learnt  during  the  week 
as  come  within  the  limits  of  the  curriculum  to  which 
she  applied  herself  during  girlhood.  The  subjects 
themselves  are  hardly  such  as  in  my  judgment  repay 
the  amount  of  study  necessary  to  master  them.  What 
with  the  growing  competition  in  commercial  life,  and 
the  great  influx  of  foreigners — Germans  and  others — 
it  seems  to  me  waste  of  time  to  devote  three  valuable 
years  of  a  young  man's  life  in  getting  up  the  opinions 
of  a  man  like  Plato,  who  lived  so  many  years  ago  that 
his  ideas  are  by  no  means  up-to-date.  Or  take  a  poet 
like  Virgil  again — if  Virgil  can  be  justly  called  a  poet. 
Compare  his  thoughts  with  those  of  our  own  immortal 
Shakespeare — the  Swan  of  Avon — or  even  with  Macau- 
lay's  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome,  if  you  must  have  matters 
of  ancient  history  treated  in  poetry.     And  what  is  the 


3613,32 


38  PETER  BINNEY 

use  of  puzzling  over  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  in  the 
Original  Greek,  when  that  book,  as  well  as  the  rest  of 
the  New  Testament,  has  been  so  achnirably  translated 
in  the  Revised  Version?  What  the  authorities  of  our 
Universities  entirely  fail  to  grasp  is  that  Latin  and 
Greek  are  not  spoken  noxcadays.  How  much  better 
young  men  would  be  fitted  for  the  business  of  life  if 
they  were  trained  to  speak  and  write  French  and  Ger- 
man fluently !  This  is  so  obvious  to  a  man  of  experi- 
ence that  I  seriously  thought  of  writing  to  the  Chancel- 
lor of  the  University,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  and 
laying  my  views  before  him,  but  Minshull  dissuaded 
me,  saying  that  I  should  be  in  a  better  position  to 
bring  to  bear  any  influence  I  might  possess  after  I 
have  taken  my  degree,  which  is  perfectly  true.  But 
the  truth  of  it  is  there  are  too  many  old  women  at  the 
head  of  the  Universities.  What  you  want  are  keen- 
headed  men,  men  of  experience  in  the  world,  who  would 
move  with  the  times,  and  get  Oxford  and  Cambridge  to 
move  with  them.  I  am  so  convinced  I  am  right  in  this 
opinion,  that  if  it  were  not  for  the  cares  of  business, 
to  which  I  must  return  when  I  have  finished  with  Cam- 
bridge, I  should  apply  for  a  Trinity  fellowship  after  I 
have  taken  my  degree,  and  try  to  infuse  a  little  spirit 
into  the  counsels  of  the  college  and  through  it  into  the 
University. 

"  I   must   now   draw   to   a   close   and    return    to    my 
studies.     I  feel  that  they  are  beneath  my  powers,  but 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        39 

at  the  same  time  i  mus't  not  grumble  at  having  to  begin 
at  the  bottom  rung  of  the  ladder.  '  Thorough '  has 
always  been  my  motto  and  will  continue  so.  No  more 
at    present,    from    your    affectionate    father, — Petee 

BiNNEY," 

Mr.  Binney's  letters  as  the  time  went  on  became  more 
and  more  sprightly  in  tone.  With  the  cares  of  business 
he  seemed  to  have  finally  laid  aside  all  the  interests 
commonly  felt  by  gentlemen  who  have  reached  middle 
age.  He  relapsed  into  slang.  Minshull,  he  said,  was 
a  "  jolly  good  sort,"  only  you  had  to  work.  It  was  no 
good  trying  to  "  kid  him."  The  subjects  for  examina- 
tion he  now  found  "  beastly  stiff,"  and  it  was  an 
*'  awful  sap  "  getting  them  up,  but  he  quite  expected 
to  have  *'  bowled  them  over  "  by  the  time  the  examina- 
tion was  due.  He  mentioned  Mrs.  Higginbotham  once 
or  twice  as  one  on  whose  approval  of  the  course  he  was 
pursuing  he  greatly  relied. 

"  Confound  that  old  woman,"  said  Lucius  when  he 
read  this.  "  She's  backing  him  up  in  all  this  nonsense. 
She's  a  sentimental  old  donkey.  Well,  he  can't  do  it 
in  time,  that's  one  comfort;"  and  Lucius  would  en- 
courage himself  by  dwelling  on  this  conviction,  and  then 
tear  up  his  father's  letters. 

He  came  up  to  town  for  two  nights  about  the  end  of 
June  on  his  long  leave.  Mr.  Binney,  of  course,  was 
full  of  his  work.     He  wished  to  be  treated  just  like  any 


40  PETER  BINNEY 

other  youth  witli  the  ordeal  of  an  examination  before 
him,  and  itcJied  to  talk  over  his  chances.  But  Lucius 
retired  into  liis  shell  whenever  Cambridge  was  men- 
tioned. Mr.  Binney,  of  course,  noticed  this  and  began 
to  get  his  back  up  about  it.  At  last  he  tackled  his  son 
in  the  most  effectual  way  as  they  sat  together  in  the 
library  at  Russell  Square  after  dinner. 

"  Look  here,  young  man,"  he  said,  "  you  may  as  well 
get  used  to  this  idea.  You  and  I  are  going  up  to 
Trinity  together,  and  I  want  to  do  the  thing  fairly  and 
squarely.  I  shall  put  us  both  on  an  allowance,  and  at 
present  I  intend  to  make  them  equal.  But  if  you're 
going  to  be  sulky  about  it,  they  won't  be  equal,  or  any- 
thing like  it.     So  put  that  in  your  pipe  and  smoke  it." 

"What  allowance?"  inquired  Lucius  with  some  in- 
terest. His  father  had  always  refused  to  come  to  the 
point  when  he  had  asked  him  the  same  question  before. 

"  Well,  I  thought  of  £300  a  year,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  Minshull  did  it  on  £200,  and  did  it  very  well,  but,  as 
he  says.  Trinity  is  the  college  where  all  the  swells  go, 
and  if  you  want  to  live  up  to  'em  you  might  have  to 
spend  a  bit  more.  As  I  say,  I  want  to  do  the  thing 
well." 

"  I  don't  suppose  Minshull  knows  much  about  it," 
said  Lucius.  "  Most  of  the  chaps  I  know  are  going  to 
have  about  four  hundred,  and  hardly  any  of  them  less 
than  three.  You  have  to  be  jolly  careful  on  three  hun- 
dred a  year  at  Trinity." 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        41 

"Ah,  well,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "I  won't  let  a  hun- 
dred a  year,  or  even  two,  stand  in  the  way,  and  we'll 
share  alike  if  you're  sensible  about  it.  But  I'm  not 
going  to  pay  you  four  hundred  a  year  to  look  down 
on  your  father,  so  you  had  better  make  up  your  mind 
how  you're  going  to  behave  before  October  comes." 

Lucius  sat  silent  with  a  gloomy  countenance  and 
his  hands  in  his  pockets.  When  he  was  at  school  the 
idea  of  his  father  accompanying  him  to  Cambridge  as 
a  freshman  seemed  so  absurd  that  he  was  sometimes 
surprised  to  find  that  he  was  enjoying  life  much  as 
usual,  without  being  very  much  burdened  by  it.  When 
he  was  at  home  and  realised  how  very  much  in  earnest 
Mr.  Binney  was,  the  dark  fate  that  hung  over  him 
became  less  remote,  and  filled  him  with  gloomy  fore- 
bodings. But  youth  is  elastic.  It  seemed  almost  out 
of  the  question  that  Mr.  Binney  would  succeed  in  pass- 
ing the  entrance  examination,  while  Lucius  himself  was 
already  admitted  a  member  of  Trinity  College.  The 
allowance  his  father  had  named  seemed  to  him  quite 
adequate,  and  he  allowed  himself  to  cheer  up  a  little 
and  inquire  after  the  health  of  Mrs.  Higginbotham. 

Mr.  Binney  coughed  in  some  little  embarrassment. 

"  Mrs.  Higginbotham  has  a  bad  cold,"  he  said,  "  and 
is  confined  to  the  house.  I  hope  she  will  be  well  enough 
to  accompany  me  to  Lord's  for  the  Eton  and  Harrow 
match,  if  the  state  of  her  bronchial  tubes,  which  are 
giving  her   a   lot  of   trouble  just   now,   permit   of  it. 


42  TETEll  BINNEY 

You  will  be  able  to  introduce  us  to  some  of  your  friends 
and  future  companions  at  Cambridge." 

"  I'm  very  sorry,"  said  Lucius,  *'  but  I  shan't  be 
th'jre.     Henley  conies  in  the  same  week.'* 

"  I  shall  be  at  Henley  as  well,"  said  Mr.  Binney, 
"  and  Mrs.  Hig^inbotham  lias  kindly  consented  to  ac- 
company me.  She  takes  a  great  interest  in  your  row- 
ing career,  Lucius,  as  she  does  in  every  other  manly 
sport.  Ah !  I  liope  the  day  may  come  when  I  my- 
self— but  we  mustn't  count  our  chickens  before  they  are 
hatched,  must  we?  With  regard  to  Henley,  you  will 
be  able  to  go  about  with  us,  I  suppose,  and  see 
that " 

"  Very  sorry,  father,"  interrupted  Lucius  hastily, 
"  I  shall  be  rowing  nearly  all  day  long.  We're  in  for 
the  Grand  and  the  Ladies'  Plate.  Besides,  the  captain 
of  the  boats  is  a  terrible  fellow.  If  he  caught  one  of 
us  so  much  as  speaking  to  a  lady  he'd  cut  up  very 
rough." 

"Why  is  that,  pray?"  inquired  Mr.  Binney. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know.  They  might  offer  us  an  ice  or 
something.  We  have  to  be  awfully  strict,  you  know, 
over  training." 

"  Ah,  well,  that's  a  pity.  Mrs.  Higginbotham  would 
like  to  meet  a  few  of  the  young  fellows  who  will  be  my 
companions  for  the  next  three  years.  She  said  so. 
Perhaps  you  might  get  one  of  your  cricketing  friends 
who  would  be  unoccupied  to  look  after  us." 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        43 

"  I'm  afraid  most  of  them  will  have  people  of  their 
own  to  look  after.  However,  if  any  of  them  happens 
to  lose  his  father  and  mother  between  now  and  Henley, 
I'll  see  what  can  be  done." 

*'  And  now  I  must  go  to  bed,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  so 
as  to  begin  work  early  to-morrow  morning.  I  don't 
want  to  lose  a  minute  more  than  I  can  help.  I'm  not 
getting  on  terms  with  Mr.  Plato  as  quickly  as  I  should 
like.  I  shall  be  able  to  introduce  you  to  Minshull  be- 
fore you  start,  Lucius.  He's  a  good  chap,  and  not  a 
bit  stand-offish  as  you  might  expect,  considering  he's 
a  B.A.,  and  I'm  not  even  a  freshman  yet.  You'll  find 
him  quite  easy  to  get  on  with." 

Minshull  was  one  of  those  people  in  whose  eyes  a 
three  years'  residence  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge  is  such 
a  glorious  thing,  that  if  they  have  gone  through  it  them- 
selves they  can  talk  or  think  of  nothing  else  throughout 
their  lives.  The  healthy  pleasant  life  of  the  average 
undergraduate  is  idealised  into  a  sort  of  seventh  heaven, 
and  a  "  blue  "  takes  his  place  immediately  below  the 
archangels  and  considerably  above  any  mere  mortal. 
Seniority  of  residence  forms  an  almost  complete  bar 
to  social  intercourse  with  undergraduates  of  lower 
standing,  and  the  little  code  of  etiquette  invented  to 
enliven  proceedings  in  the  lesser  colleges  is  as  the  laws 
of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  To  be  or  to  have  been  "  a 
'Varsity  man  "  was  the  only  thing  quite  necessary  in 
MinshuU's  eyes,  if  you  were  to  call  yourself  a  gentle- 


U  PETER  BINNEY 

man,  and  he  therefore  saw  nothing  that  was  not  entirely 
Liiulable  in  Mr.  Binney's  determination  to  acquire  this 
hall-mark  of  superiority,  however  late  in  life.  While 
trying  to  instil  into  his  j)upil  the  requisite  amount  of 
Latin  and  Greek,  he  imparted  to  him  at  the  same  time 
his  own  particular  point  of  view  in  matters  of  under- 
graduate custom,  taught  him  what  to  admire  and  what 
to  avoid,  until  Mr.  Binncy  was  infused  with  the  spirit 
of  a  provincial  youth  about  to  enter  the  gates  of  the 
University  paradise  from  his  country  grannnar  school. 
Mr.  Binney  had  first  of  all  considered  a  belated  career 
at  Cambridge  as  an  opportunity  for  mending  a  de- 
fective education;  under  the  encouragement  of  Mrs. 
Higginbotham's  yearnings  after  vanished  delights  he 
had  come  to  look  upon  it  as  a  means  of  gaining  some 
of  the  prestige  of  golden  youth  ;  influenced  by  MinshuU's 
complacent  reverence,  he  had  insensibly  drifted  away 
from  the  careless  acquiescence  with  which  Lucius,  for 
instance,  regarded  his  own  proposed  residence  at  the 
University,  and  now  felt  that  he  should  break  his  heart 
if  he  was  prevented  from  taking  his  part  in  the  glamor- 
ous delights  which  his  tutor  held  before  his  eyes.  He 
made  herculean  efforts  to  get  on  terms  with  his  exam- 
ination subjects,  and  worked  harder  than  he  had  ever 
done  in  his  life  before. 

Minshull  arrived  at  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning  as 
usual.  Mr.  Binney,  who  had  been  working  since  seven 
and  had  breakfasted  at  eight,  had  not  yet  returned  from 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        45 

a  short  constitutional,  and  Lucius  had  the  privilege  of 
an  interview  with  his  father's  tutor. 

Minshull  was  a  tall  young  man,  rather  shabbily 
dressed,  with  a  long  solemn  face  diversified  by  little 
ranges  of  spots  of  an  eruptive  tendency.  He  greeted 
Lucius  with  some  respect,  for  Lucius  was  a  potential 
"  blue,"  and  Minshull  would  have  been  as  incapable  of 
keeping  on  his  hat  in  church  as  of  talking  without  due 
reverence  to  a  "  blue." 

"  How's  the  governor  getting  on  with  his  work  ?  " 
asked  Lucius  with  an  abashed  snigger. 

"  Oh,  pretty  well,"  replied  Minshull.  "  He  works 
very  hard,  but  of  course  he  has  to  do  everything  from 
the  beginning." 

*'  No  chance  of  his  getting  through,  I  suppose?  "  said 
Lucius. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  said  Minshull.  "  If  he  works 
as  hard  as  he  has  been  doing  so  far  for  the  next  three 
months  he  may  just  be  able  to  scrape  through  in 
October." 

Lucius  began  to  pace  the  room. 

"  If  he  gets  into  Trinity  I  won't  go  up,  that's  flat," 
he  said. 

"  What !  Not  go  up  to  the  *  'Varsity  '  when  you've 
got  a  chance !  "  exclaimed  Minshull.  "  My  dear  fel- 
low, you  don't  know  what  you're  talking  about.  You 
will  regret  it  all  your  life  if  you  don't." 


46  PETER  BINNEY 

"  Look  here,"  said  Lucius,  "  you  were  at  Cambridge, 
weren't  you?  " 

"  Yes,  certainly,"  said  Mln.shuU,  sllglitly  offended. 
"  I  took  my  degree  last  year." 

"  Well,  how  would  you  have  liked  to  have  your  old 
governor  playing  the  fool  up  there  at  the  same  col- 
lege?" 

"  I  see  no  reason  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Blnney  will 
play  the  fool,"  said  Minshull  stiffly.  *'  I  have  put  him 
up  to  everything  he  ought  to  know.  He  won't  make 
mistakes.  He  is  not  likely  to  carry  an  umbrella  with 
a  cap  and  gown  or  anything  of  that  sort." 

"Why  shouldn't  he  carry  an  umbrella  if  it  rains? 
Look  here,  can't  you  make  certain  of  his  getting  pilled 
for  this  examination?" 

Minshull  looked  horrified.  "  What !  and  prevent  his 
going  up  to  the  'Varsity  when  he  wants  to  ?  "  he  ex- 
claimed. 

"Or  if  you  can't  do  that  and  he's  likely  to  get 
through,  tell  him  that  you  don't  think  much  of  Trinity, 
and  get  him  to  go  somewhere  else." 

"  There  are  plenty  of  good  colleges  in  Cambridge 
besides  Trinity,"  said  Minshull,  "  although  Trinity  men 
don't  seem  to  think  so.  My  own  college,  for  instance, 
Peterhouse,  isn't  big,  but  it  is  one  of  the  best,  if  not 
the  best  of  the  smaller  ones." 

"Is  it?  W^ell  then,  get  him  to  go  there.  Do  you 
mean  to  say  you  don't  think  it's  a  beastly  shame  him 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        47 

wanting  to  come  up  and  spoil  all  my  time  at  Cam- 
bridge? " 

"  I  can't  see "  began  Minshull,  but  just  then  Mr. 

Binney  came  in,  and  Lucius  left  them  to  their  labours, 
with  the  uncomfortable  conviction  that  the  toils  were 
closing  in  on  him  and  that  there  was  no  help  at  any 
rate  to  be  gained  from  his  father's  tutor. 

Henley  week  came  round  in  due  course,  but  Mrs. 
Higginbotham,  alas,  did  not  come  round  with  it.  Her 
cold  had  settled  on  her  lungs  and  the  poor  lady  was 
brought  very  low.  At  the  time  Mr.  Binney  hoped  to 
have  been  paddling  her  about  on  the  Thames  in  a 
Canadian  canoe  she  was  surveying  the  beauties  of  Tor- 
quay in  a  bathchair.  Mr.  Binney  had  been  told  by 
Minshull  that  if  he  really  wished  to  pass  the  Trinity 
entrance  examination  in  October,  it  was  absolutely  im- 
perative that  he  should  not  lose  a  single  day's  work 
if  he  could  possibly  help  it,  so  Lucius  won  a  reprieve 
for  that  occasion,  at  least,  and  as  the  Eton  boys  man- 
aged to  win  the  Ladies'  Plate  and  rowed  a  good  race 
in  the  semi-final  heat  for  the  Grand  Challenge  Cup, 
he  spent  on  the  whole  a  pleasant  Henley.  During  the 
first  few  weeks  of  his  holidays  he  was  training  for  and 
rowing  in  some  of  the  up-river  regattas,  and  September 
he  spent  with  various  school-fellows  in  Scotland,  so  it 
was  not  until  just  before  he  was  due  at  Cambridge  that 
he  found  himself  once  more  in  the  house  in  Russell 
Square  and  the  society  of  his  father.     Mr.  Binney,  in 


46  PETEU  BINNEY 

the  meantime,  fired  with  a  mighty  ambition  to  show  his 
mtttle  and  acquit  liiinself  well  in  his  examination,  had 
retired  to  an  east  coast  village  with  Mnisliull,  and  de- 
voted himself  strenuously  to  his  books.  He  had  worked 
very  hard  for  six  months,  but  a  man  who  has  left  a 
cheap  commercial  sciiool  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and 
that  thirty  years  before,  can  hardly  expect  to  do  in  that 
time  what  a  public  school  boy  has  been  working  steadily 
up  to  ever  since  his  education  began.  A  month  before 
the  examination,  Minshull  saw  that  his  pupil  had  no 
chance  of  success,  and  told  him  so  one  morning  as  they 
were  walking  together  by  the  sea.  Mr.  Binney  was 
heart-broken. 

"  iVo  chance,  Minshull?"  he  asked  plaintively.  "I 
don't  mind  working  another  two  hours  a  day,  you  know. 
Isn't  there  any  chance?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  not,  Mr.  Binney,"  said  Minshull.  "  You 
have  worked  very  hard ;  you  couldn't  have  done  better ; 
but  you  see  the  work  is  all  new  to  you.  You  might  get 
in  at  the  Hall,  perhaps,  or  if  you  cared  about  it  I 
should  think  I  might  have  enough  influence  with  the 
Peterhouse  authorities  to " 

"  Never,"  said  Mr.  Binney  firmly.  "  Trinity  or  no- 
where. If  I  make  up  my  mind  to  a  thing,  I  stick  to  it. 
I  shouldn't  have  made  my  fortune  if  I  hadn't." 

"  I  should  advise  you,  sir,  to  give  up  all  ideas  of 
attempting  the  October  examination,"  said  Minshull. 
"  I  can  assure  you  you  can't  possibly  pass  it,  and  if 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        49 

you  do  very  badly  it  may  be  prejudicial  to  your  chances 
in  the  future.  Take  a  month's  holiday,  or  you'll  knock 
yourself  up.  Then  set  to  work  again  and  be  ready  for 
them  next  spring." 

"  I  feel  you're  right,"  said  poor  Mr.  Binney.  *'  I 
feel  you're  right,  Minshull,  but  it's  a  sad  blow.  You'll 
excuse  me  if  I  just  walk  on  alone  for  a  bit.  I  shall 
get  over  it  better." 

Minshull  left  him,  and  Mr.  Binney  spent  a  very  bitter 
hour  by  himself.  He  had  never  been  beaten  before 
when  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  succeed,  and  it  en- 
raged him  to  think  of  the  two  hundred  beardless  boys 
who  would  enter  Trinity  College  as  freshmen  in  a 
month's  time,  most  of  whom  had  succeeded  without  any 
difficulty  in  doing  what  he  could  not  do  even  with  the 
most  strenuous  endeavours.  Lucius,  for  instance,  had 
taken  the  whole  thing  very  calmly,  although  he  was  not 
a  particularly  clever  nor  a  particularly  diligent  boy. 
Then  his  thoughts  passed  on  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham — 
Martha.  That  was  the  worst  thought  of  all.  He  had 
written  once  a  week  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  alluding  in 
an  airy  way  to  his  new  acquaintances,  Plato  and  Virgil 
and  Euclid,  as  if  he  and  they  were  on  the  most  intimate 
terms  of  familiarity.  Now  he  would  have  to  tell  her 
that  their  thoughts  were  too  deep  for  him — for  him 
who  had  familiarised  all  England  with  the  mind  of  a 
Shakespeare — and  that  the  languages  by  means  of 
which  they  expressed  their  thoughts  still  presented  such 


50  PETER  BINNEY 

a  mountain  of  obstacles  to  him  that  it  was  doubtful 
if  \\v  would  ever  succeed  in  fretting  over  them.  Still, 
the  confession  would  have  to  be  made,  and  Mr.  Binney, 
with  that  directness  which  characterised  all  his  actions, 
determined  that  it  should  be  made  that  very  night. 
"  I  am  very,  very  sorry,  Martha,"  he  wrote,  "  I  have 
really  done  my  best.  I  shouldn't  have  been  worthy  of 
you  if  I  hadn't.  I'm  afraid  your  Peter  is  a  bit  of  a 
dunce,  although  he  never  thought  so  before.  Write 
and  say  you  will  not  throw  me  over  for  it,  and  I  shall 
set  to  work  again  with  renewed  earnestness." 

Mrs.  Higginbotham,  although  deeply  disappointed, 
wrote  a  very  kind  and  consoling  letter  from  Torquay, 
where  her  bronchial  tubes,  which  had  assumed  complete 
mastery  over  all  her  actions,  still  detained  her. 

"  If  at  first  you  don't  succeed,  try,  try,  tr^^  again," 
she  wrote,  and  thought  she  had  said  a  very  original 
thing.  "  I  always  found,  when  I  was  a  young  lady  at 
school,  that  if  I  couldn't  master  my  tasks  immediately, 
the  only  thing  for  it  was,  not  to  give  them  up,  but  to 
determine  that  I  zcould  master  them  in  time;  and  my 
mistress.  Miss  Dolby — now  an  angel — used  frequently 
to  point  me  out  to  the  parents  of  other  pupils,  and 
say,  '  That  child  has  great  determination,  and  will  un- 
doubtedly make  her  mark.'  I  am  aware  that  I  have 
not  fulfilled  !Miss  Dolby's  prophecy  up  to  present  date, 
but  your  triumphs  arc  mine,  Peter,  and  I  trust  that 
we  shall  both  grow  famous  together." 


LUCIUS  WINS  A  YEAR'S  RESPITE        51 

Mr.  Binney  was  much  encouraged  by  Mrs.  Higgln- 
botham's  letter.  He  took  a  holiday  and  went  to  Tor- 
quay, and  by  the  time  Lucius  went  up  to  Cambridge 
early  in  October,  very  much  relieved  at  the  idea  of  at 
least  one  year  free  from  the  companionship  of  his 
father  as  a  fellow  undergraduate,  he  had  settled  down 
for  a  hard  winter's  work  in  Russell  Square. 


CHAPTER  IV 

NO   HELP   TO   BE   GAINED    FROM   MRS.   HIGGINBOTHAM 

Lucius  Binney  enjoyed  his  first  year  at  Cambridge 
exceedingly.  He  had  been  popular  at  school  and  he 
was  very  much  liked  at  the  University.  He  did  enough 
work  to  enable  him  to  avoid  friction  with  the  authori- 
ties and  passed  both  parts  of  his  Littlcgo  in  his  first 
term.  He  rowed  in  the  Trial  Eights,  but  as  he  was 
not  heavy  enough  to  fill  any  place  but  bow  in  a  Uni- 
versity boat,  a  place  which  was  adequately  filled  al- 
ready, he  did  not  get  his  Blue.  His  allowance  enabled 
him  to  play  his  part  in  the  hospitalities  of  University 
life  with  credit,  and  he  showed  no  disposition  to  exceed 
it.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the  historic  Amateur 
Dramatic  Club,  commonly  known  as  the  A.  D.  C,  and 
played  the  part  of  a  maid-servant  in  the  first  perform- 
ances of  his  year  on  the  most  approved  principles  of 
Cambridge  dramatic  art,  with  a  slim  waist,  a  high 
colour,  and  an  unmistakably  masculine  voice.  He 
would  have  been  one  of  the  happiest  men  in  the  Univer- 
sity if  he  had  not  been  continually  haunted  by  the 
thought  of  his  father. 

But  for  some  reason  or  other  Mr.  Binney,  although 
he  insisted  upon  lengthy  letters  being  written  to  him, 

62 


NO  HELP  FROM  MRS.  HIGGINEOTHAM     53 

giving  the  fullest  possible  account  of  University  mat- 
ters, expressed  no  intention  of  paying  him  a  visit,  as 
Lacius  lived  in  continual  fear  of  his  doing.  Perhaps 
he  was  ashamed  of  his  inability  to  pass  the  entrance 
examination  after  having  made  certain  of  doing  so; 
perhaps  he  preferred  to  make  his  first  appearance 
amongst  Cambridge  men  as  an  undergraduate  and  not 
as  the  guest  of  an  undergraduate.  At  any  rate  he  left 
Lucius  unmolested  during  his  first  two  terms,  but  his 
letters  became  more  and  more  jubilant  as  he  worked 
on  at  his  examination  subjects,  and  felt  himself  getting 
nearer  the  desired  goal. 

Lucius  had  a  friend  called  Dizzy.  His  name  was 
not  really  Dizzy,  but  it  is  only  fair  to  state  that  he 
had  been  christened  Benjamin.  To  him  alone,  of  all 
his  friends,  Lucius  had  disclosed,  under  a  solemn  promise 
of  secrecy,  the  dark  fate  that  was  hanging  over  him. 

"  He'll  pass  this  time,  Dizzy,  I  know  he  will,"  said 
Lucius,  after  receiving  a  more  than  usually  confident 
letter  from  his  father,  who  informed  him  that  Minshull 
had  told  him  that  his  Latin  prose  was,  at  last,  begin- 
ning to  show  signs  of  an  elementary  grasp  of  the  fact 
that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  Latin  grammar. 

Not  he,"  said  Dizzy  with  complete  confidence. 
He'll  never  pass.  I  knew  an  old  geezer — no  offence 
to  your  governor,  Lucy — who  first  took  up  Latin  when 
his  little  boys  were  seven  and  eight,  under  a  governess. 
First  week  they  were  all  three  about  equal.     Then  the 


54i  PETER  BINNEY 

eldest  boy  began  to  forge  ahead.  In  a  fortniglit  the 
little  one  left  the  old  man  behind,  and  after  a  month 
the  governess  said  she'd  have  to  go  if  he  didn't  do  her 
more  credit.  He  didn't  want  that,  so  he  married  her, 
which  was  what  he'd  been  after  all  along,  only  hadn't 
liked  to  say  so.  They  cant  learn  things  at  that  time 
of  life,  my  boy,  any  more  than  we  can  make  a  pot  of 
money  by  winking  at  a  fellow  on  the  Stock  Exchange* 
It's  not  in  'em." 

"  You  don't  know  my  governor,"  said  Lucius,  his 
depression  very  little  lightened  by  Dizzy's  narrative. 
"  He's  been  at  it  for  nearly  a  year  now,  grinding  like 
a  galley  slave.  That  fellow  Minshull  must  have  got 
something  into  his  head  by  this  time.  And  after  all 
the  entrance  exam  isn't  anything  very  big,  is  it?  " 

"  Not  to  us ;  we're  educated  men,"  said  Dizzy,  who 
was  a  member  of  Trinity  Hall,  where  the  entrance  ex- 
amination is  tempered  to  the  shorn  Trinity  candidate. 
"  But  it's  the  devil  and  all  to  people  like  your  old 
governor  who  ain't  used  to  that  sort  of  thing.  He 
won't  pass,  Lucy;  don't  you  be  afraid  of  it." 

"  It's  too  bad  of  him  wanting  to  come  up,  isn't  it, 
Dizzy?"  said  poor  Lucius,  who  yearned  for  sympathy 
and  could  only  obtain  it  from  this  one  particular 
friend. 

"  It  is  too  bad,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I  don't  know  what 
governors  are  coming  to.  There's  mme  wrote  to  me 
the  other  day  and   said   I  was   disgracing  the  family 


NO  HELP  FROM  MRS.  HIGGINBOTHAM     55 

name,  just  because  I  turned  out  those  lights  in  St.  An- 
drew's Street  and  got  hauled  up  at  the  police  court  for 
it.  I  told  him  I  did  it  entirely  to  save  the  ratepayers' 
money.  He's  always  talking  about  the  enormous  fiscal 
burdens  he's  got  to  bear,  or  some  such  tommy-rot,  and 
I  thought  that  would  please  him.  But  not  a  bit  of  it. 
Governors  never  listen  to  reason.  I  got  eight  pages 
back  with  a  lot  more  about  the  family  name.  Hang  it, 
it  ain't  much  of  a  name  after  all." 

It  was  not.  It  was  Stubbs.  But  General  Sir  Rich- 
ard Stubbs,  V.C.,  had  done  his  little  best  to  adorn  it  in 
days  gone  by  and  saw  no  great  probability  of  his  son 
Benjamin  doing  the  same  in  days  to  come. 

The  account  Lucius  gave  at  home  of  his  doings  fired 
Mr.  Binney's  imagination. 

"  Splendid,  my  boy,  splendid ! "  cried  the  little  man, 
when  he  described  the  two  bumps  which  the  Third  Trin- 
ity boat  had  made  in  the  Lent  races.  "  I  shall  go  in 
for  rowing  myself;  best  exercise  you  can  have,"  and 
Mr.  Binney  drew  himself  up  and  struck  the  place  where 
his  chest  would  have  been  if  he  had  had  one.  "  Is  it 
likely,  do  you  think,  Lucius,  that  you  and  I  will  row 
in  the  same  boat?  " 

"  It's  not  only  unlikely,"  said  Lucius  shortly,  "  it's 
impossible." 

"  Oh,  indeed,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  with  a  dangerous 
gleam  in  his  eye.  "  You  are  such  a  swell  I  suppose, 
that  nobody  else  can  expect  to  come  near  you  " 


56  PETER  BINNEY 

"  You  wouldn't  even  belong  to  the  same  boat-club," 
said  Lucius.  "  You  ought  to  know  that  by  this  time. 
Third  Trinity  is  only  for  Eton  and  Westminster  men, 
the  rest  of  the  college  belongs  to  First  Trinity." 

"  I  did  know  it,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  but  I  had  for- 
gotten it  for  the  moment.  You  needn't  take  me  up 
so  sharp,  Lucius.  Is  First  Trinity  a  good  boat 
club?" 

"  Of  course  it  is,"  said  Lucius. 

"  Very  well,  then,  I  shall  join  it,  and  take  up  rowing 
seriously.     Have  you  spoken  at  the  Union  yet.-*" 

"  No,  I  don't  belong  to  it.  I  shouldn't  speak  if  I 
did,  and  it's  no  good  belonging  to  that  and  the  *  Pitt  * 
too." 

"The  'Pitt'!     What's  the  'Pitt'.?" 

"  It's  a  club." 

"  Is  it  the  thing  to  belong  to  it.'*  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know.     A  lot  of  people  do." 

"  Ah,  well,  I  must  belong  to  that  too." 

"  You  have  to  be  elected  to  it.  People  sometimes 
get  pilled." 

"  Well,  I  should  hope  there  wouldn't  be  much  chance 
of  my  getting  pilled,  whatever  that  may  mean.  I  be- 
long to  the  National  Liberal  Club.  That  ought  to  be 
enough  for  them,  oughtn't  it.'*  " 

"  Quite  enough  for  them,  I  should  think,"  answered 
Lucius,  who  had  once  dined  at  that  famous  institution 
with  Peter,  and  been  offensively  patronised  by  one  of 


NO  HELP  FROM  MRS.  HIGGINBOTHAM     57 

Mr.  Binney's  fellow-members,  a  man  old  enough  to  be 
his  father. 

"  I  shall  join  the  Union,"  continued  Mr.  Binnej. 
"  I  expect  most  of  my  triumphs  will  lie  there.  I  am 
accustomed  to  addressing  large  assemblies.  I  was 
nearly  elected  to  the  London  County  Council  two  years 
ago,  as  you  know.  That's  where  I  score,  you  see,  being 
a  man  of  the  world  among  a  lot  of  boys.  I've  learnt 
to  do  things  that  they  are  only  just  beginning  to  think 
about." 

"  Yes.  You've  made  your  pile  among  other  things," 
replied  Lucius.  "  Most  of  us  haven't  learnt  to  do  that 
yet.  We  generally  begin  at  the  other  end  and  spend  it 
first." 

"  I  shan't  grudge  spending  some  of  it,"  said  Mr. 
Binney.  "  I  hope  to  entertain  the  young  fellows  a  good 
deal.  Minshull  says  if  you  give  a  few  good  breakfasts 
every  term — do  the  thing  well,  you  know,  with  perhaps 
some  fruit  and  a  bottle  of  claret  to  come  after — you 
get  a  tremendous  reputation  for  hospitality  throughout 
the  'Varsity.     Is  that  so.?  " 

"  Well,  I'm  not  sure  I  ever  met  anybody  who  drank 
claret  at  breakfast.  I  did  know  a  fellow  who  used  to 
drink  brandy.  He  certainly  did  get  a  tremendous 
reputation  throughout  the  'Varsity,  but  it  wasn't  for 
hospitality.     He  wasn't  up  there  long." 

"  H'm.  Well,  Minshull  said  he  knew  a  man  who  went 
up  a  bit  late,  who  had  more  money  to  spend  than  most 


58  PETER  BINNEY 

people,  who  got  into  the  first  set  at  Pcterhouse  through 
his  breakfasts." 

"  Did  he?  lAukv  fellow!  Well,  I  should  give  a  few 
breakfasts  if  I  were  you,  father.  We  shall  all  think 
you  a  tremendous  chap." 

"  I  iiKan  to  go  one  better  than  that,  my  boy,  and 
give  a  little  dinner  occasionally,  to  the  elite  of  the 
"Varsity — Blues,  and  people  of  that  sort.  I  daresay 
you  young  fellows  will  only  be  too  pleased  to  go  out- 
side the  ordinary  lines  once  in  a  way.  I  suppose  there's 
no  rule  against  giving  dinners,  is  there.''  " 

"  I  never  heard  of  it.  It's  pretty  often  broken  if 
there  is." 

"  I  intend  to  do  the  thing  well,  and  open  a  bottle  of 
champagne.  1  daresay,  now,  champagne's  a  thing 
that's  hardly  known  at  Cambridge." 

"  That's  w  hat  I  told  my  wine  merchant  last  term. 
He  was  rather  annoyed." 

"  I  don't  object  to  a  little  jollification  occasionally. 
I  daresay  you  and  I,  Lucius — for  you  shall  do  what 
I  do — will  become  pretty  well  known  up  there  b^'-and- 
bye." 

*'  I  dare  say  we  shall,"  said  Iaicius  with  a  sigh.  And, 
indeed,  it  did  not  seim  unlikely. 

Before  Lucius  went  i)ack  to  Cambridge  for  the  sum- 
mer term,  ho  made  one  last  attempt  to  avert  the  catas- 
trophe which  had  now  become  imminent — for  Minshull 


NO  HELP  FROM  MRS.  HIGGINBOTHAM  59 

had  told  him  that  Mr.  Binney  was  now  quite  capable 
of  passing  the  required  test.  He  called  on  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham,  whose  bronchial  tubes  had  by  this  time  be- 
come less  ostentatious  in  their  behaviour. 

"  Well,  Lucius,"  said  that  lady,  when  he  was  seated 
opposite  to  her  in  her  comfortable  drawing-room,  "  you 
will  soon  have  your  dear  father  to  look  after  you  at 
college.  It  is  not  many  young  men  who  have  a  father 
so  ready  to  share  in  all  their  little  pleasures." 

"  No,"  said  Lucius.  "  Don't  you  think  you  could 
stop  him,  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  if  you  tried?" 

*'  Stop  him ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Higginbotham  with 
raised  voice  and  hands.  "  My  dear  Lucius,  do  not  tell 
me  that  you  are  so  selfish  as  to  be  jealous  of  an  excellent 
father." 

"  Jealous  !  "  echoed  Lucius.  "  I  don't  know  what  you 
mean." 

*'  You  do  know  what  I  mean,  Lucius,"  said  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham severely.  "And  you  are  jealous.  I  can 
see  it  in  your  face.  Here  is  your  dear  father  continu- 
ally talking  to  me  with  pride  about  the  things  you  are 
doing  at  Cambridge,  while  you  are  only  thinking  of 
yourself,  and  fear  that  you  will  lose  the  position  you 
have  won  when  he  is  there  to  compete  with  you.  What 
a  contrast!  You  should  be  ashamed  of  such  feelings, 
Lucius.  I  am  sure  I  should  be  if  I  were  in  your  place. 
What  matter  if  you  do  have  to  take  a  lower  place  in 


60  PETER  BINNEY 

the  estimation  of  your  young  friends,  when  it  is  your 
own  father — and  such  a  father — who  will  replace  you? 
I  do  not  like  to  think  of  such  behaviour." 

"  He'll  only  be  laughed  at,  you  know,"  said  Lucius. 

**  And  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that,  as  an  unworthy 
revenge  for  your  loss  of  prestige,  you  would  actually 
dare  to  hold  your  own  father  up  to  ridicule?  "  inquired 
Mrs.  Higginbothani. 

"  Of  course  I  shouldn't,"  said  Lucius.  "  I  should  do 
my  best  to  prevent  his  making  a  f —  I  mean  becoming 
notorious." 

"  There !  "  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham  triumphantly. 
"  Now  you  have  acknowledged  your  baseness,  Lucius. 
I  am  thoroughly  ashamed  of  you.  But  you  will  learn 
that  you  cannot  prevent  your  father  from  becoming 
notorious.  He  is  bound  to  take  the  lead  in  whatever 
he  takes  up,  especially  among  a  lot  of  boys  many  years 
his  juniors,  and  far  inferior  in  capacity.  I  am  afraid 
that  in  addition  to  your  miserable  jealousy,  Lucius, 
there  are  things  you  wish  to  hide  in  your  life  at  Cam- 
bridge, things  that  you  do  not  wish  your  father  to 
know  of.  I  hope,  indeed,  that  is  not  so.  I  should  be 
truly  sorry  if  the  innocent  life  to  which  he  is  looking 
forward  with  such  pleasure  was  to  be  spoiled  by  the 
misbehaviour  of  one  for  whom  he  has  done  so  much." 

"I've  got  notliing  to  be  ashamed  of  in  my  life  at 
Cambridge,  ]Mrs.  Higginbotham,"  said  Lucius.  "  You 
don't  seem  to  be  any  more  reasonable  about  this  silly 


NO  HELP  FROM  MRS.  HIGGINBOTHAM  61 

scheme  than  my  father  himself.  I  had  better  go,  I 
think." 

"  I  think  so  too,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham.  "  And 
do  not  come  and  see  me  again,  Lucius,  until  you  are  in 
a  better  frame  of  mind,  and  can  speak  with  more  re- 
spect to  one  of  your  father's  oldest  friends." 

"  I  won't  come  and  see  you  again  at  all,  you  silly  old 
fool,"  said  Lucius ;  but  he  waited  to  say  it  until  he  was 
on  the  other  side  of  the  door. 


CHAPTER  V 

MR.    BINNEY  ARRIVES    IN    CAMBRIDGE 

Lucius's  first  May  term  wore  itself  out  with  a  burst  of 
glorious  summer  weather.  The  boat  races  and  cricket 
matches,  the  dances  and  college  concerts,  the  crowds  of 
sisters  and  cousins,  the  mayonnaises  and  iced  cups,  and 
all  the  other  attributes  of  those  ten  days  of  mid-June 
which  go  by  the  name  of  the  May  week,  played  their 
ac<  ustomed  parts  in  mitigating  the  severity  of  the  toil 
to  which  Cambridge  devotes  itself  for  the  rest  of  the 
academic  year. 

But  to  Lucius  there  was  a  heavy  cloud  darkening  the 
vivid  blue  of  the  summer  sky.  Mr.  Binncy  was  to  ar- 
rive at  the  end  of  the  term,  to  undergo  his  examination. 
The  days  passed  with  relentless  speed,  and  one  unhappy 
morning  he  found  himself  walking  up  and  down  the 
long  unlovely  platform  of  the  Cambridge  station,  await- 
ing the  train  which  was  bearing  his  father  rapidly 
towards  the  scene  of  his  future  exploits.  So  far  only 
Mr.  Benjamin  Stubbs  shared  with  him  the  knowledge 
of  the  evil  fate  that  was  in  store  for  him.  But  the 
secret  was  bound  to  come  out  now,  and  Lucius  wondered 
whether  there  was  a  more  unhappy  man  in  all  Cam- 
bridge than  himself. 

Mr.  Binney  arrived,  accompanied  by  MinshuU,  for 

62 


MR.  BINNEY  ARRIVES  IN  CAMBRIDGE     63 

whom  he  had  taken  rooms  at  the  Hoop,  in  order  that 
he  might  have  the  advantage  of  his  able  tuition  up  to 
the  very  last  moment,  for  he  was  determined  to  throw 
away  no  little  chance  that  might  add  to  his  prospect  of 
success.  Mr.  Binney  himself  had  been  allotted  rooms 
in  college  for  the  few  days  during  which  the  examination 
lasted.  If  he  was  not  already  a  Cambridge  man  this 
was  the  next  best  thing  to  it,  and  a  proud  man  was 
Mr.  Binney  to  find  himself  the  occupant  of  a  garret  in 
the  Great  Court  with  a  bedroom  which  any  one  of  his 
servants  at  Russell  Square  would  have  turned  up  her 
nose  at.  They  were  the  rooms  of  a  sizar,  and  were 
barely  furnished  even  for  a  very  poor  man's  rooms,  but 
the  sizar  had  blossomed  into  the  Senior  Wrangler  of 
that  year,  and  that  fact  repaid  Mr.  Binney  in  full  for 
any  little  inconvenience  he  might  have  felt  at  being  de- 
prived of  most  of  the  necessities  and  all  the  luxuries  of 
life  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed. 

Lucius  accompanied  his  father  to  these  rooms  and 
left  him  to  himself,  for  he  was  lunching  with  the  captain 
of  his  boat.  It  was  the  last  night  of  the  races,  and 
Mr.  Binney  proposed,  after  spending  a  busy  afternoon 
with  Minshull  over  his  books,  to  go  down  to  Ditton 
Corner  and  see  the  boats.  Lucius  thanked  his  lucky 
stars  that  he  was  rowing  and  need  not  present  his  father 
to  an  admiring  circle  of  friends  on  that  very  public  oc- 
casion. He  would  have  been  pleased  enough  to  intro- 
duce him  as  a  father,  there  or  at  any  other  place,  if  he 


04)  PETER  BINNEY 

had  come  up  simply  to  pay  him  a  visit,  for  Lucius  was 
a  right-minded  boy  and  showed  no  disposition  to  be 
ashamed  of  his  somewhat  liumble  origin  among  his  circle 
ef  more  or  less  gilded  youth ;  but  to  have  to  say  "  My 
father,  who  is  coming  up  here  next  term,"  and  to  have 
to  stand  by  while  little  Mr.  Binney  tried  to  reduce  him- 
self to  the  level  of  an  inexperienced  schoolboy,  as  he 
felt  certain  he  would  do,  was  an  ordeal  that  he  did  not 
feel  equal  to,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  to  let  the  inevit- 
able catastrophe  bring  itself  about  in  its  own  way.  He 
told  himself  that  he  was  happy  to  have  averted  it  for 
so  long,  for  although  some  of  the  dons  knew  of  Mr.  Bin- 
ney's  intention,  and  his  own  Tutor  had  actually  talked 
to  him  about  it,  the  secret  did  not  seem  to  have  become 
public  property  among  the  undergraduates  of  the  col- 
lege. 

Mr.  Binney  was  delighted  with  everything  he  saw. 
The  gay  crowd  in  the  paddock  at  Ditton  Corner,  the 
lines  of  carriages  on  one  side,  and  the  flotilla  of  moored 
boats  under  the  bank,  appealed  to  him  with  all  the  force 
of  a  delightful  novelty.  The  boating  men  and  others 
on  the  tow-path  across  the  river,  with  the  photographers 
plying  their  trade  and  letting  off  their  amiable  wit- 
ticisms through  the'ir  mcgapliones,  the  boat  crews  in 
their  coloured  coats,  some  of  them  with  flowers  in  their 
hats,  swinging  down  to  their  stations  round  the  bend, 
gave  him  great  pleasure.  Then,  after  a  pause,  filled 
^with  the  gossip  and  laughter  of  the  crowd,  when  a  dis- 


MR.  BINNEY  ARRIVES  IN  CAMBRIDGE     65 

tant  gun  was  heard,  and  three  minutes  afterwards  a 
second,  and  a  minute  after  yet  another;  when  the  men 
in  the  boats  under  the  bank  straightened  themselves  and 
said,  "  They're  off  " ;  when  a  moving  mass  of  the  heads 
of  men  running  was  seen  far  away  under  the  willows 
across  the  meadows ;  when  little  men  laden  with  bundles 
of  coats  fled  along  the  tow-path  opposite  towards  the 
*'  Pike  and  Eel  " ;  when  the  noise  of  the  shouting  and 
the  springing  of  rattles  drew  nearer ;  when  every  head 
in  the  crowd  was  turned  towards  Ditton  Corner,  and 
two  boats  came  into  sight  very  close  to  one  another,  and 
after  them  two  more,  and  the  shouting  and  cheering 
was  taken  up  by  every  one  around  him,  Mr.  Binney  lost 
his  head  with  excitement,  and  yelled  with  the  best  of 
them,  especially  for  the  heroes  of  Fitzwilliam  Hall  whom 
he,  for  some  reason  or  other,  mistook  for  a  Trinity 
crew. 

"  It's  grand,  Minshull,  it's  grand,"  he  said  as  they 
made  their  way  home  with  the  crowd  along  the  river 
bank  and  across  Midsummer  Common.  "  I  don't  won- 
der at  your  being  proud  of  Cambridge,  Minshull." 

"  I'm  glad  Pothouse  made  their  bump  just  opposite 
Ditton,"  said  Minshull  complacently.  "  Now  you  see 
what  rowing  is  like,  Mr.  Binney." 

"  Lucius  rowed  well,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  Didn't 
you  think  so?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Minshull,  who  had  been  a  diligent  but 
ineffective  La  Crosse  and  hockey  player  during  his  resi- 


66  PETER  BINNEY 

dence  at  the  University,  and  hardly  knew  an  oar  from  a 
barge  pole.  "  But  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  hardly 
caught  the  beginning  enough." 

"  You  had  better  tell  him  that,"  said  Mr.  Binney 
with  imconscious  irony.  "  I  dare  say  he'll  be  glad  of 
any  hints  he  can  get." 

Lucius  sat  in  his  rooms  in  Jesus  Lane  the  next  after- 
noon in  a  very  depressed  frame  of  mind.  His  father 
had  intimated  that  he  was  coming  to  tea.  Lucius  had 
invited  Dizzy  to  meet  him,  hoping  that  liis  friend's 
pleasant  flow  of  conversation  would  help  out  the  enter- 
tainment, and  prevent  his  own  plentiful  lack  of  cheer- 
fulness from  becoming  too  apparent ;  but  Dizzy  had  not 
arrived  yet.  He  devoutly  hoped  that  nobody  else 
would  unexpectedly  honour  him  with  his  society.  But 
alas !  an  Eton  friend,  one  year  his  junior,  who  was  in 
for  the  entrance  examination,  took  that  untoward  op- 
portunity of  paying  him  a  visit. 

"  There's  such  a  rummy  little  devil  up,"  he  said  in 
the  course  of  conversation,  "  about  sixty  years  old,  with 
carrotty  whiskers.     It  oughtn't  to  be  allowed." 

The  blow  had  fallen.  Poor  Lucius  sat  silent  in  un- 
told misery,  and  just  then  in  walked  Mr.  Binney.  "  My 
father,"  said  the  wretched  boy.     "  Lord  Blathgowrlc." 

Lord  Blathgowrle  shook  hands  with  Mr.  Binney  with- 
out visible  embarrassment,  and  then,  suddenly  remem- 
bering a  pressing  engagement,  went  out  to  spread  his 
cxtraordlnarv  news. 


MR.  BINNEY  ARRIVES  IN  CAMBRIDGE     67 

"  A  lord !  "  said  little  Mr.  Binney  with  great  satisfac- 
tion. "  Well,  there  are  a  good  many  lords  I  could  buy 
up.  However,  that  seems  a  nice  young  fellow.  I  won- 
der how  he  got  on  with  his  Virgil  paper.  I  must  ask 
him  to-morrow." 

Lucius  groaned  inwardly.  "  I  shouldn't  pal  up  to 
chaps  like  that,  if  I  were  you,  father,"  he  said.  "  I 
should  keep  as  quiet  as  I  could,  or  you'll  make  yourself 
and  me  look  jolly  ridiculous." 

"  Allow  me  to  tell  you,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney  up  in 
arms  at  once,  "  that  no  action  I  choose  to  take  is  likely 
to  make  either  you  or  myself  look  ridiculous.  And  I 
object  to  being  made  the  butt  of  such  observations  from 
my  own  son.  It  isn't  the  first  time  it  has  happened, 
and  in  order  that  it  may  be  the  last,  I  beg  to  tell  you 
that  it  is  my  intention  to  knock  ten  pounds  a  year  off 
your  very  handsome  allowance  for  every  speech  of  that 
sort  that  I  am  called  upon  to  listen  to." 

Lucius  groaned  again  and  passed  his  hand  wearily 
across  his  brow,  but  made  no  verbal  remonstrance  to  his 
father's  harsh  announcement,  and  just  then  the  door  of 
the  house  was  heard  to  slam,  and  Dizzy  tumbled  noisily 
upstairs  and  into  the  room. 

"  My  father — Mr.  Stubbs,"  said  Lucius  deject- 
edly. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Binney,"  said  the  cheerful 
Dizzy.  "  Pleased  to  meet  you.  Lucy — I  mean  Lucius, 
told  me  you  were  thinking  of  giving  us  a  turn  up  here. 


68  PETER  BINNEY 

Not  a  bad  place,  is  it?  Better  than  Threadneedle 
Street,  eh?" 

"  I  don't  know  very  much  about  Threadneedle  Street, 
Mr.  Stubbs,"  said  Mr.  Binncy,  a  little  taken  aback  by 
Dizzy's  extreme  friendliness,  "  but  this  certainly  is  not 
a  bad  place.  Indeed  it  is  a  very  good  place.  It  is  a 
noble  place." 

"How  did  you  get  on  with  your  papers?"  inquired 
Dizzy,  helping  himsulf  to  a  large  slice  of  cake.  "  Pipped 
'em  all  right,  I  hope." 

"  I  think  I  acquitted  myself  tolerably  satisfactorily, 
thank  you,"  answered  Mr.  Binncy.  "  We  were  exam- 
ined on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  this  afternoon." 

"  Rummy  old  boys,  those  Apostles,"  began  Dizzy  in 
a  vein  of  reminiscent  anecdote,  but  Mr.  Binney  inter- 
rupted him. 

"  Mr.  Stubbs,"  he  said,  "  I  am  a  man  of  religious 
views.  I  must  beg  you  not  to  make  light  of  sacred 
matters.  You'll  excuse  my  making  the  stipulation, 
but " 

"  Oh,  not  at  all,"  said  the  unabashed  Dizzy  ambigu- 
ously, "  don't  mention  it.  I  was  only  going  to  say 
that  it  seems  a  rummy  thing — however,  perhaps  I'd  bet- 
ter not.      See  the  races  j'csterday  ?  " 

"I  did,"  said  Mr.  Biimcy,  warming  at  once.  "I 
never  saw  anything  which  pleased  me  better.  What  a 
thing  it  is  to  see  a  lot  of  young  fellows  going  in  for 
such  a  grand  sport  as  that !  " 


MR.  BINNEY  ARRIVES  IN  CAMBRIDGE     69 

"  It  is,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I'm  a  whale  on  sport.  I 
ain't  much  of  a  hand  in  a  boat  myself,  but  put  me  on  a 
horse  and  I'll  undertake  to " 

"  Tumble  off,"  interpolated  Lucius,  who  was  in  a 
state  of  irritation  verging  on  desperation. 

*'  Lucy,  you've  got  a  fit  of  the  green-eyed  monster," 
said  Dizzy.  "  You  ride  like  a  bag  of  potatoes  your- 
self, and  you're  jealous  of  those  who  can  beat  you. 
Don't  you  pay  any  attention  to  him,  Mr.  Binney. 
You'll  get  to  know  him  by-and-bye.  Going  to  keep  a 
horse  up  here  ?  " 

"  I  hadn't  thought  of  it,"  said  Mr.  Binney  doubt- 
fully.   "  I  rather  thought  of  devoting  m^'self  to  rowing." 

"  Capital  thing,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I  knew  a  fellow 
who " 

Dizzy's  anecdote  was  so  little  to  the  point  that  it 
may  be  omitted.  In  later  life  he  would  probably  be- 
come one  of  those  old  men  who  interrupt  conversation 
with  the  dread  opening,  "  I  recollect  upon  one  occa- 
sion," and  sail  off  into  interminable  pointless  reminis- 
cence. But,  at  present,  his  absolute  lack  of  self-con- 
sciousness and  his  flow  of  youthful  good  spirits  made 
him  very  agreeable  company,  and  when  he  left  Lucius's 
rooms  half-an-hour  later,  he  had  completely  captivated 
Mr.  Binney  with  his  artless  prattle. 

"  That's  a  very  nice  young  fellow,"  said  Mr.  Binney, 
when  the  door  had  closed  on  Dizzy's  back.  "  If  all 
your  friends  at  Trinity  are  like  that,  Lucius " 


70  PETER  BIXNEY 

"  Stubbs  isn't  at  Trinity,"  said  Lucius,  "  he's  at  the 
Hall." 

"  Really !  "  said  Mr.  Binncy,  much  surprised,  "  I 
thought  that  Trinity  men  never  associated  on  equal 
terms  with  men  of  other  colleges." 

"  That's  one  of  MinshuU's  ridiculous  ideas,  I  sup- 
pose," said  Lucius.  "  It  doesn't  matter  what  college 
a  fellow  is  at  if  he's  a  good  chap,  and  there  are  plenty 
of  good  chaps  in  Cambridge  outside  Trinity,  especially 
at  the  Hall." 

"  But  I  should  have  expected  a  little  more — what 
shall  I  say.'' — deference,  in  a  man  from  another  col- 
lege." 

"  Well,  then,  I'm  afraid  it's  one  of  those  expectations 
in  which  you'll  be  disappointed  if  you're  really  coming 
up  here.  Trinity's  the  best  college  in  Cambridge — or 
Oxford  either  for  that  matter — but  it  isn't  the  only 
one,  and  nobody  thinks  it  is  unless  it's  fellows  like  Min- 
shull,  who  are  always  running  it  down,  although  they 
would  have  given  their  ears  to  belong  to  it  them- 
selves." 

"  I  don't  like  the  tone  you  take  up  about  Minshull, 
Lucius,"  said  IVIr.  Binney.  "MinshuU's  a  very  good 
fellow,  although  he  hasn't  had  the  advantages  that  you 
and  I  have.  I  owe  him  a  great  deal,  and  I  shan't  forget 
it.  Now  I  must  go  and  look  over  the  subjects  for  to- 
morrow's papers." 


CHAPTER  VI 

I.ORD   BLATHGOWRIE   HAS   SOMETHING   TO   SAY 

PooE  Lucius  went  up  to  Cambridge  for  his  second  year 
with  his  allowance  pared  down  to  £360  a  year,  for,  care- 
ful as  he  was,  he  had  not  been  so  successful  as  alto- 
gether to  avoid  hurting  his  father's  susceptibilities ;  and 
with  him  went  Mr.  Binney,  for  eighteen  months  of  hard 
toil  had  enabled  him  to  pass  the  entrance  examination, 
and  he  was  now  duly  admitted  a  pensioner  of  Trinity. 

Lucius  had  been  allotted  rooms  in  college,  while  Mr. 
Binney  inhabited  one  of  the  choice  mansions  in  Jesus 
Lane.  He  had  knocked  off  ten  pounds  from  his  son's 
allowance  for  suggesting  a  retired  situation  in  the 
Trumpington  Road.  "  I  am  determined  to  do  the  thing 
as  well  as  my  means  will  permit  of,"  he  had  said.  "  If 
I  can  secure  good  rooms  in  college  next  year,  I  shall  do 
so.  Until  then  I  shall  take  the  best  lodgings  that  are 
available." 

They  parted  at  the  railway  station.  *'  I  suppose  I 
shall  see  you  some  time  to-morrow,"  said  Mr.  Binney, 
when  he  had  collected  his  luggage  and  was  just  stepping 
into  a  fly. 

"  I  suppose  so,"  said  Lucius  dejectedly,  as  he  drove 
away. 

71 


72  PETEK  BINNEY 

Lucius  dined  that  night  in  hall,  and  sat  in  extreme 
misery  while  his  friends  aired  their  humour  at  his  ex- 
pense, for  by  this  time  the  news  of  Mr.  Binney's  arrival 
had  become  public  property.  Their  chart"  was  not  ill- 
humoured,  and  if  matters  had  stood  as  they  evidently 
imagined,  Lucius  could  have  borne  it.  Elderly  under- 
graduates are  not  altogether  unknown  at  Cambridge, 
although  they  do  not  often  appear  at  Trinity  College ; 
but  they  are  usually  careful  to  comport  themselves  with 
dignified  reticence,  and  to  keep  very  much  in  the  back- 
ground. A  University  degree  is,  as  a  rule,  the  sole  end 
they  have  in  view  in  putting  themselves  to  school  again, 
and  they  are  very  far  from  wishing  to  ape  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  young  men  with  whom  they  share 
the  pursuit  of  that  laudable  object.  Lucius  had  the 
mortification  of  feeling  that  if  Mr.  Binncy  had  contented 
himself  with  working  quietly  for  a  degree,  and  living 
the  unobtrusive  life  which  befitted  his  years,  the  amused 
interest  aroused  by  the  event  of  father  and  son  pursu- 
ing their  studies  at  the  same  time  at  the  same  college 
would  have  worn  itself  out,  and  Mr.  Binney  might  even 
have  come  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  pleasant 
acquaintance  by  Lucius's  friends.  He  knew  quite  well 
that  his  father  would  not  be  content  with  this  humble 
role,  and  that  the  intermittent  sniping  of  which  he  was 
now  the  object  would  develop  into  a  regular  fusillade  of 
ridicule  when  Mr.  Binney  had  had  time  to  spread  him- 
self a  bit  and  become  more  notorious. 


BLATHGOWRIE  HAS  SOMETHING  TO  SAY     73 

He  went  back  to  his  solitary  rooms  after  hall  and 
set  himself  down  to  read.  Poor  boy,  he  was  too  dis- 
pirited to  do  anything  else.  He  sported  himself  in 
with  the  half-formed  intention  of  refusing  admittance 
to  his  father  if  he  should  present  himself.  But  up  to 
ten  o'clock,  when  the  college  gates  are  shut  to  outsiders, 
no  one  had  attempted  to  invade  his  privacy.  Soon 
afterwards  he  went  to  bed,  having  spent  his  first  evening 
at  Cambridge  entirely  in  his  own  society.  For  two 
days  he  moped  alone,  keeping  to  his  rooms  as  much  as 
possible  and  only  leaving  the  college  to  go  down  to  the 
river,  where  his  fame  was  steadily  rising.  His  friends 
for  the  most  part  considerately  kept  out  of  his  way, 
thinking  that  he  might  be  engaged  in  looking  after  his 
freshman  parent.  But  strangely  enough  he  heard  or 
saw  nothing  of  Mr.  Binney.  He  avoided  places  where 
he  was  likely  to  meet  him,  and  so  far  his  father  had 
never  once  been  to  his  rooms. 

On  the  third  morning  he  determined  to  face  the 
music.  "  If  I'm  to  stop  up  here,"  he  said  to  himself — 
*'  and  I  can't  go  down  now  I've  got  a  chance  of  my 
Blue — I  must  make  up  my  mind  to  get  used  to  it.  But 
it's  enough  to  make  a  fellow  take  to  drink,  or  work,  or 
something."  Then  he  put  on  his  hat  and  went  round  to 
the  "  Pitt  "  Club. 

There  was  a  group  of  men  round  the  fire-place  in  the 
big  room.  "  Halloa !  here's  Binney  Minor,"  said  one 
of  them.     "How's  your  major  getting  on,  old  man?" 


74  PETER  BINNEY 

Then  many  agreeable  pleasantries  were  fired  off  at  him, 
while  he  sat  on  one  of  tlie  long  seats  and  pretended  to 
read  a  paper.  When  it  was  found  that  the  pleasantries 
did  not  amuse  him,  and  he  was  taking  his  fate  seriously, 
they  ceased,  and  by-and-bye  an  exodus  took  place  and 
he  was  left  to  himself. 

"  I'm  afraid  poor  old  Lucy's  papa  is  rather  a  trial 
to  him,"  said  one  of  his  late  tormentors  as  they  walked 
up  Jesus  Lane  in  the  sedate  and  easy  manner  affected 
by  undergraduates  who  value  their  position.  "  What 
has  he  come  up  for,  any  way?  " 

"  To  look  after  Lucy,  I  suppose,"  said  another,  "  but 
I  don't  know  why ;  lie's  straight  enough." 

"  Have  you  seen  the  little  beggar?  "  Inquired  Blath- 
gowrie,  who  was  one  of  the  group.  "  He's  one  of  the 
rummicst  little  beggars  you  ever  saw ;  rather  like  an 
elderly  jockey  who's  got  into  parliament.  Can't  think 
where  Lucy  gets  his  good  looks  from.  His  mother  must 
have  been  a  ripper." 

"  I  saw  him  on  the  river  yesterday,"  said  a  rowing 
man;  "he  was  coxing  a  First  Trinity  boat  and  shout- 
ing away  as  if  he  had  been  at  it  all  his  life.  The  crew 
looked  frightened  and  the  coach  couldn't  get  a  word  in 
edgeways.  I  think  that  little  man  is  going  to  afford 
us  some  amusement." 

"If  he's  going  to  play  the  fool,"  said  the  first  man, 
"  that's  why  Lucy  looks  so  glum  when  he's  chaff ud,  and 
I  don't  wonder  at  it.     I  must  say  it's  beastly  hard  lines 


BLATHGOWRIE  HAS  SOMETHING  TO  SAY      75 

on  him,  and  he's  such  a  good  chap.  Binney  major's 
the  sort  of  governor  one  would  like  to  keep  in  the  back- 
ground.    Here's  Dizzy." 

Dizzy  was  on  his  way  to  the  "  Pitt."  When  he  got 
there  he  found  Lucius  sitting  alone,  looking  the  picture 
of  misery.  A  few  Bloods  were  talking  blatantly  round 
the  fire,  and  some  quiet  members  were  trying  to  write 
letters  or  read  the  papers  in  other  parts  of  the  room. 

"Well,  how  has  he  been  behaving?"  asked  Dizzy, 
sitting  down  by  his  friend. 

"  I  haven't  seen  him  yet,"  said  Lucius.  "  I  can't 
think  why." 

"  Perhaps  he  means  to  behave  decently  and  keep  out 
of  the  way,"  suggested  Dizzy. 

"  Not  he,"  answered  Lucius.  "  There's  something 
up." 

There  was.  When  Lucius  got  back  to  his  rooms  he 
found  a  note  on  his  table. 

"  Dear  Lucius,"  it  ran,  "  Pray  what  is  the  meaning 
of  your  not  coming  to  call  on  me?  You  know  very 
well  that  I  can't  go  to  your  rooms  until  you  do,  you 
being  the  senior  man,  and  there  are  a  lot  of  things  I 
want  to  talk  to  you  about.  You  will  find  yourself  £10 
poorer  at  the  end  of  the  year  for  this  piece  of  imperti- 
nence, and  let  me  advise  you  to  be  very  careful  how  you 
behave.  Though  a  freshman  1  am  still  your  father. 
Come  to  tea  this  afternoon  at  five  o'clock.  I  am  not 
to  be  trifled  with.— P.  B." 


76  TETER  BINNEY 

The  miserable  Lucius  went  to  his  father's  rooms  on 
his  way  up  from  the  river.  Mr.  Binncy  had  been  on 
the  river,  too,  and  had  not  yet  returned.  Lucius  had 
an  opportunity  of  surveying  his  father's  quarters. 
There  was  nothing  to  show  they  did  not  belong  to  the 
most  callow  freshman  of  eighteen.  There  were  two 
large  shields  with  the  coats-of-amis  of  the  University 
and  Trinity  College  over  the  mantelpiece.  There  was 
a  Trinity  coat-of-arms  on  the  coal  scuttle,  on  the  match- 
holders,  the  pipe-rack,  and  every  article  in  the  room 
that  could  reasonably  bear  it,  as  well  as  on  every  piece 
of  crockery  that  was  laid  out  on  Mr.  Binney's  tea- 
table.  The  usual  textbooks  and  note-books  lay  about. 
Lucius  looked  into  the  latter  and  found  a  feeble  attempt 
at  a  caricature  of  a  respected  lecturer,  signed  P.  B. 
On  the  mantelpiece  were  some  printed  cards  and  papers 
relating  to  certain  small  clubs  and  societies,  of  which 
the  freshman  seeks  membership  with  much  avidity,  and 
resigns  with  equal  enthusiasm  when  he  has  reached  the 
dignity  of  his  second  year.  On  a  chair  lay  Mr.  Bin- 
ney's  cap  and  gown.  To  Lucius's  horror,  the  stiffening 
of  the  cap  had  disappeared,  and  the  gown  had  been 
cut  short.  These  are  the  unfailing  signs  of  the  second- 
rate  undergraduate  who  wishes  to  be  taken  for  a  sport- 
ing character.  Some  misguided  but  radically  inoffensive 
freshmen  fall  under  the  influence  of  such  ideals  in  their 
early  days,  and  grow  out  of  them  afterwards.  But 
surely  Mr.  Binney  could  not  have  made   friends  with 


BLATHGOWRIE  HAS  SOMETHING  TO  SAY      77 

the  rowdies  yet!  He  had  hardly  had  time  to  make 
friends  with  anybody. 

Just  then  Mr.  Binney  himself  came  in.  He  was  in 
his  boating  clothes,  of  which  he  was  not  a  little 
proud. 

"  Oh,  so  you've  condescended  to  come  at  last,  have 
you  ?  "  he  said. 

"  I'm  very  sorry,  father,"  said  poor  Lucius.  "  I'd 
no  idea  you  would  stand  on  all  that  ceremony.  I 
couldn't  make  out  why  you  didn't  turn  up.  I  thought 
perhaps  you  had  made  up  your  mind  that  it  would  be 
better  for  us  to  take  different  lines." 

"  Another  ten  pounds  off,"  roared  Mr.  Binney,  "  you 
know  what  I  said." 

"  Oh,  damn  it,"  said  Lucius,  losing  patience.  *'  I 
shan't  have  anything  left  at  all  soon.  I'd  better  go 
down  at  once,  and  have  done  with  it." 

*' How  dare  you  swear  at  me,  sir?  "  cried  Mr.  Bin- 
ney. 

"Well,  isn't  it  enough  to  make  a  chap  swear.''  "  an- 
swered Lucius,  almost  crying.  "  I've  had  such  a  jolly 
time  up  here,  and  now  I'm  ashamed  to  show  my  face. 
And  as  if  that  wasn't  enough  you  take  money  off  me 
every  time  I  open  my  mouth." 

Mr.  Binney  relented.  He  was  fond  of  his  son,  and 
Lucius  looked  very  unhappy.  "  I'll  let  you  off  this 
time,"  he  said,  "  but  don't  let  it  occur  again.  Now, 
what  I  wanted  to  say  was  that  I'm  not  getting  on  as  I 


76  PETER  BINNEY 

expected.  Not  a  soul  has  called  on  me  except  some 
one  who  wanted  a  subscription  for  a  missionary  society. 
I  was  very  pleased  to  give  liim  a  sovereign,  of  course, 
but  I  could  hardly  take  his  call  as  a  friendly  visit.  I 
have  picked  up  a  few  friends  of  my  own  year  at  hall 
and  elsewhere,  but  that  isn't  what  I  want.  I  want  to 
know  the  distinguished  men.  You  know  them.  Why 
haven't  you  sent  some  of  them  to  call  on  me?  " 

"  Look  here,  father,"  said  Lucius.  "  It's  no  use  going 
on  like  this.  The  people  I  know  don't  go  in  for  all  this 
'  calling  '  rot,  and  I'm  not  going  to  ask  them  to.  If 
you  must  know  that  particular  lot,  you'll  meet  some 
of  them  in  my  rooms  occasionally,  and  if  they  take  to 
you,  well,  you'll  get  to  know  some  of  them.  But  you 
must  take  your  chance  just  like  anybody  else.  It's  no 
good  pushing  things." 

"  Well,  there's  sense  in  that,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  You  can  have  a  little  dinner  in  your  rooms^  I'll  pay 
for  it,  and  I  daresay  we  shall  be  very  good  friends  be- 
fore the  evening  is  out.  I  suppose  you  couldn't  get 
Muttlcbury  up  for  it,  could  you?  You  said  you  knew 
him.     I  should  like  to  meet  Muttlebury." 

"  No,  I  couldn't,"  said  Lucius  shortly. 

"  Well,  any  blues  will  do.  I  should  like  to  be  able 
to  tell  Minshull  I  dined  with  a  party  of  blues.  He  only 
knew  one,  and  that  very  slightly — Widgeon,  who  put 
the  hammer  or  something  last  year.  He  was  at  Peter- 
house  —  Pothouse,    I    mean.     By-the-bye,    I    suppose 


BLATHGOWRIE  HAS  SOMETHING  TO  SAY      79 

there's  no  harm  in  my  looking  up  men  of  my  own  year, 
is  there?  " 

"  I  suppose  not,  not  if  you  use  your  sense  about  it." 

"Now,  what  about  the  *  Pitt '  Club?  When  is  the 
election?  " 

"  I  don't  know.     In  about  a  fortnight  I  should  think." 

"  Is  my  name  down  for  it?  " 

"  No." 

"  And  why  not,  pray  ?  " 

"  I've  only  been  there  once  since  I  came  up." 

"  Put  it  down  at  once,  then,  and  don't  lose  any  more 
time  about  it.  Minshull  had  never  heard  of  the  '  Pitt,' 
but  I  have  learnt  since  I  came  up  that  all  the  best 
known  people  belong  to  it.  And  I  should  like  to  belong 
to  the  A.D.C.  too." 

"  I  daresay  I  can  manage  that  for  you.  I'm  on  the 
committee  now,  and  we  are  always  very  kind ;  but,  look 
here,  father,  there's  not  the  slightest  chance  of  your 
belonging  to  the  '  Pitt '  or  the  A.D.C.  either  if  you 
don't  keep  yourself  in  the  background  at  first.  And 
whatever  made  you  knock  the  stuffing  out  of  your  cap 
like  that  ?  It's  only  the  roAvdies  whom  nobody  respect- 
able has  anything  to  do  with  who  go  in  for  that  sort 
of  thing." 

"  Minshull  told  me  that  if  you  wore  a  new  cap  and 
gown  everybody  took  you  for  a  smug,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 

"  Minshull's  a  fool,"  said  Lucius,  with  withering 
scorn.     "  You'd   better   take   my    advice   about   things 


80  PETER  BINNEY 

like  that,  not  his.  And  I  sliould  buy  myself  a  new  cap 
if  I  were  you." 

A  few  days  after,  Dizzy  gave  a  dinner.  Most  of  his 
guests  had  arrived  and  were  discussing  the  vagaries 
of  Mr.  Binney,  who  by  tliis  time  had  become  a  public 
character,  when  Blatligowric  arrived  in  a  state  of  some 
perturbation. 

"  I  say,  you  fellows,"  he  said,  as  he  came  in.  "  This 
business  will  have  to  be  stopped.  I've  had  that  little 
bantam  in  my  rooms  since  seven  o'clock.  I'm  not  going 
to  stand  it." 

"What  did  he  want?" 

"  Said  he  hadn't  seen  me  in  hall,  and  wondered  what 
had  become  of  me — thought  he'd  pay  me  a  friendly 
call." 

"What  did  you  do?" 

"  Well,  I  was  civil  for  the  sake  of  poor  old  Lucy. 
But  I  didn't  get  him  out  of  the  room  for  an  hour,  and 
he  said  he  was  coming  again.  Hang  me  if  I  ever  saw 
such  a  pushing  little  scug." 

"  Lucy  ought  to  tell  him  to  keep  to  himself." 

"  Bless  you,  he  can't  help  it,"  said  Dizzy.  "  He  gets 
his  screw  docked  every  time  he  suggests  such  a  thing." 

"  Well,  I  call  it  a  beastly  shame.  But  if  Lucius  can't 
do  it,  somebody  else  must." 

"  I'll  do  it,"  said  Bhithgowrie.  "  I'm  not  shy.  He's 
bound  to  turn  up  again  soon ;  said  we  were  fellow  fresh- 
men, oi  some  such  rot,  and  ought  to  know  one  another 


BLATHGOWRIE  HAS  SOMETHING  TO  SAY      81 

better.  He'll  know  jne  better  before  I've  done  with 
him.     Hush,  here's  Lucj." 

Mr.  Binney  was  not  elected  to  the  "  Pitt "  Club,  and 
Lucius  had  not  been  able  to  bring  himself  to  propose 
his  name  for  membership  of  the  A.  D.  C,  preferring  to 
lose  the  £10  of  income  which  his  father  knocked  off  for 
each  rebuff,  than  to  put  his  colleagues  to  the  awkward 
necessity  of  either  rejecting  his  nomination,  or  of  elect- 
ing his  father  to  clubs  where  he  was  not  wanted.  Nor 
did  his  dinner  bring  about  that  measure  of  popularity 
which  Mr.  Binney  had  hoped  for.  Lucius  asked  four 
of  his  tried  friends,  who  were  very  polite,  very  much 
bored,  and  retired  early.  Dizzy  might  have  saved  the 
situation,  but  Dizzy  had  gone  up  to  town  with  an  exeat. 
Mr.  Binney  had  by  this  time  joined  the  Union  and 
spoken  twice.  He  could  talk  of  nothing  else  and  looked 
forward  with  confidence  to  filling  the  President's  chair. 

A  few  nights  afterwards  he  again  invaded  Blath- 
gowrie.  It  was  about  half-past  nine,  and  that  estimable 
nobleman  had  a  select  party  of  about  twelve  playing 
the  unallowable  game. 

There  was  an  abashed  silence  when  little  Mr.  Binney 
entered  and  flung  his  cap  and  gown  on  a  chair. 

"  Good  evening,  Mr.  Binney,"  said  Blathgowrie. 
*'  We  are  engaged  in  a  quiet  game  of  whist.  Could  you 
make  it  convenient  to  call  on  another  occasion?  " 

"  Don't  mention  it,  my  lord ;  don't  mention  it,"  said 
Mr.  Binney.     "  I'll  make  myself  comfortable  and  look 


82  PETER  BINNEY 

on.  I  should  like  to  see  whist  played.  It  is  a  game  I 
am  unacquainted  with,  although  I  recollect  when  I  was 
a  joung  fellow  Snap  and  Old  Maid  used  to  be  favourite 
games  in  the  family  circle." 

*'  They're  favourite  games  up  here,"  said  Blath- 
gowric,  "  and  so  are  Hunt  the  Slipper  and  Puss  in  the 
Corner.  We'll  play  Puss  in  the  Corner  when  we've 
finished  this,  and  you  shall  be  poor  pussy.  What,  not 
going  yet,  Astley !  " 

But  first  one  and  then  another  of  Blathgowrie's 
friends  was  afraid  he  must  be  going,  and  in  ten  minutes 
he  was  alone  with  Mr.  Binne}',  putting  up  the  cards 
with  unimpaired  cheerfulness. 

*'  I'm  very  sorry  I've  disturbed  your  game,"  said  INIr. 
Binney,  whom  this  wholesale  exodus  had  considerably 
amazed. 

"  Not  at  all,  Mr.  Binney,  not  at  all.  My  friends 
are  in  the  habit  of  retiring  to  rest  early.  Tliey're  all 
anxious  to  catch  the  worm  to-morrow,  you  know." 

"Don't  call  me  I\Ir.  Binney,"  said  Peter;  "call  me 
Binney.     We're  of  the  same  standing,  you  know." 

"  So  we  are,  Binney,"  acquiesced  Blathgowrie. 
"  Well,  Binney,  how  do  you  find  yourself?  Pretty  well, 
thank  you?  " 

Mr.  Binney  began  to  grow  suspicious. 

"  I  hope,  sir,  I'm  not  intruding  on  you,"  he  began. 

"  Well,  Binney,"  said  Blathgowrie,  "  to  tell  you  the 
plain  truth,  you  do  intrude  confoundedly." 


BLATHGOWRIE  HAS  SOMETHING  TO  SAY     83 

Mr.  Binney  started  up  out  of  his  chair. 

"  Pray  sit  down,  Binney,"  said  Blathgowrie.  "  I  am 
commissioned  by  my  friends  and  your  son's — Lucy's, 
you  know — to  tell  you  we  consider  you're  behaving  in  a 
devilish  mean  and  shabby  manner  to  him.  He's  done 
his  best  for  you,  you  know,  but  to  tell  you  the  truth 
we  don't  care  for  you,  Binney.  You're  not  quite  our 
sort,  you  know- — a  year  or  two  older  perhaps — and  we 
really  can't  have  you  poking  in  your  nose  where  you're 
not'  wanted.  There  are  plenty  of  nice  quiet  Johnnies 
about  who'll  be  very  pleased  to  make  your  acquaint- 
ance, especially  if  you  feed  them  well,  but  speaking  for 
the  unworthy  people  whom  you  honour  with  your  atten- 
tions at  present,  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  they  are 
declined  with  thanks." 

Mr.  Binney  arose  in  his  wrath.  He  was  somewhat 
violent  and  altogether  incoherent.  Blathgowrie  handed 
him  his  cap  and  gown  and  opened  the  door  for  him. 

"Good-night,  Binney,"  he  said,  "mind  the  step;" 
and  Mr.  Binney  disappeared  down  the  staircase. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MR.    BINNEY    SPEAKS    AT    THE    UNION    AND    MAKES    A 
DISTINGUISHED   ACQUAINTANCE 

Mk.  Binney  went  out  of  Blathgowrie's  lodgings  and 
into  the  street  in  a  white  heat  of  indignation.  His  blood 
boiled  within  him  at  the  indignity  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected.  Was  it  possible  that  he,  Peter  Binney,  the 
founder  of  a  great  commercial  house,  the  Bloomsbury 
ratepayer,  the  almost  successful  candidate  for  the  Lon- 
don County  Council,  had  been  told  in  so  many  words 
by  a  mere  slip  of  an  impudent  boy  that  his  society  was 
not  wanted  by  him  and  his  callow  friends.?  What  next ! 
he  wondered.  As  if  he  cared  for  their  contemptible 
society !  Pshaw !  It  was  the  other  way  about.  If 
they  had  had  the  slightest  idea  how  his  name  was  re- 
spected in  the  City,  they  would  have  sung  a  very  differ- 
ent tune.  He  wouldn't  have  their  acquaintance  now, 
or  join  their  precious  clubs  if  the  committee  went  down 
on  their  bended  knees  and  begged  him  to  do  so.  He 
flung  into  his  rooms  burning  with  anger  against  the 
whole  insolent  crew  of  them,  and  most  of  all  against  his 
son,  Lucius,  whom  he  unjustly  accused  of  being  the  dis- 
loyal cause  of  his  late  reverse. 

"  Ah,  Binney,  I  thocht  ye  wouldn't  be  long,  and  I'd 

84 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION       85 

just  wait  for  ye,"  said  a  voice  with  a  strong  Scotch 
accent,  from  the  depths  of  Mr.  Binney's  armchair. 

"Oh,  that  you,  M'Gee!"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "I'm 
pleased  to  see  you.  But  you'll  excuse  me  for  being  a 
little  upset.  I've  just  undergone  a  piece  of  monstrous 
impertinence  from  my  Lord  Blathgowrie,  and  I  scarcely 
know  how  to  contain  my  anger." 

"  Toch !  "  exclaimed  M'Gee.  "  What  for  do  ye  want 
to  mix  yourself  up  with  such  trash?  I've  come  to  talk 
to  you  about  the  Union.  Sit  down,  man,  and  lis- 
ten." 

M'Gee,  like  Mr.  Binney,  was  a  freshman,  and  like 
Mr.  Binney  again,  had  come  up  to  Cambridge  many 
years  later  than  the  average  young  man  enters  upon 
his  University  course.  He  was  the  son  of  a  High- 
land gillie,  and  had  succeeded  with  incredible  difficulty, 
as  far  as  money  was  concerned,  in  gaining  a  degree  at 
a  Scotch  University.  But  that  had  not  sufficed  for 
him.  He  was  ambitious,  and  extremely  tenacious  of 
ideas.  He  had  early  made  up  his  mind  to  bring  his 
brains  to  the  market  of  Cambridge,  and  at  Cambridge 
he  accordingly  found  himself  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven, 
with  a  scholarship  at  St.  John's  College,  and  nothing 
else  upon  which  to  support  himself  except  his  deter- 
mination to  succeed  to  the  highest  honours  that  Cam- 
bridge could  afford.  He  had  joined  the  Union  with  a 
shrewd  and  resolute  eye  to  the  President's  chair,  but 
the  lighter  social  success  which  held  such  a  charm  from 


86  PETER  BINNEY 

Mr.  Binncy's  point  of  view  he  regarded  with  the  most 
lofty  scorn.  Self-contained  and  self-reliant  as  he  was, 
however,  he  was  not  entirely  without  a  human  weakness 
for  sympathy  and  encouragement  in  his  aims,  and  had 
fixed  upon  Mr.  Binney,  as  one  who  shared  with  him 
some  of  the  accidents  of  his  position,  with  whom  to 
indulge  in  the  occasional  luxury  of  discussing  his  am- 
bitions. 

*'  I  wouldn't  give  a  thought  to  these  young  '  bloods,' 
as  they  call  them,"  said  M'Gee.  "  They'll  be  of  no  use 
to  ye.  They  make  a  big  splash  while  they  are  up  here, 
but  when  they  go  down  they're  no  better  than  dirt." 
Here  M'Gee  snapped  a  bony  finger  and  thumb.  "  I'm 
no  saying  that  I'd  like  to  be  nothing  but  a  worker  in 
Cambridge,"  he  went  on.  "  You  keep  to  yourself  for 
three  years  and  you  come  out  Senior  Wrangler  at  the 
end  of  it,  and  they  put  your  picture  in  the  papers. 
And  then  you  go  down,  and  what  glory  do  you  get 
from  it.^*  There's  aye  one  way  of  getting  yourself 
known  here,  if  you're  a  man  of  brains,  and  that's  at 
the  Union.  Go  round  the  rooms  and  look  at  the  pic- 
tures of  the  Presidents  from  the  beginning.  Why, 
man,  there's  not  a  dozen  of  them  that  isn't  known  to 
the  world  at  large.  That's  fame.  And  it's  the  sort  of 
fame  that's  worth  having.  Colloguing  wi'  lords  an' 
that  is  a  puir  thing  to  it." 

"  You're  right,  M'Gee,"  cried  Mr.  Binney,  springing 
up.     "  You're  right.     A  lord !     Wliat's  a  lord  and  all 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION        87 

his  hangers-on?  Froth!  Dregs!  Dirt !  as  you  rightly 
remark.      I  won't  have  my  boy  associating  with  such." 

"  Leave  your  boy  alone,"  said  M'Gee,  "  He  is  a 
boy,  and  does  very  well  as  he  is.  You  and  I  are  men, 
and  we'll  make  use  of  this  place  which  most  of  them 
don't  know  the  value  of.  Study  the  questions  of  the 
day,  give  a  lot  of  preparation  to  your  speeches,  and 
speak  every  time  the  house  sits.  Force  'em  to  take  ac- 
count of  you  and  you'll  come  out  top." 

"  I  will,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  now  greatly  excited.  "  I 
can  come  out  top  If  I  want  to.  I  know  I  can.  You 
and  I  will  be  carried  down  to  posterity,  M'Gee,  as  two 
of  the  greatest  Presidents  the  Union  has  ever  had.  To- 
day's Monday.  To-morrow  I  speak  on  the  vaccination 
question.  I  don't  take  any  interest  in  it,  but  Fll  get 
the  subject  up  thoroughly  in  the  meantime,  and  ray 
speech  will  surprise  them." 

And  so  Mr.  Binney  changed  his  social  aspirations, 
and  wrote  long  letters  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham  describing 
the  acclamations  with  which  he  was  received  when  he 
rose  to  speak  at  the  Union,  and  painting  in  vivid 
colours  the  honours  paid  to  the  occupant  of  the  Presi- 
dent's chair,  that  chair  which  had  been  filled  by  so  many 
illustrious  men. 

He  and  M'Gee  spoke  every  Tuesday  in  that  term. 
M'Gee  was  intolerably  dogmatic,  metaphysical  and  long- 
winded,  always  heard  the  secretary's  bell  ring  before 
he    had    half    finished    his    argument,    and    invariably 


88  PETER  BINNEY 

emptied  the  house  of  ull  hut  the  long-suffering  officials 
whenever  he  rose  to  his  feet.  Mr.  Binney  as  surely 
filled  it.  He  was  a  wind-bag,  but  a  wind-bag  who  de- 
lighted his  audience  in  the  same  way  as  a  monkey  on 
an  organ  is  a  source  of  appreciation  not  so  much  for 
its  innate  humour  as  for  the  unstudied  expression  of 
its  personality.  It  was  quite  true  that  Mr.  Binney 
roused  the  applause  of  the  assembly.  The  incipient 
statesmen  lolling  on  the  benches  or  w^riting  notes  on 
their  knees  or  strolling  up  to  have  a  word  with  the 
President  in  his  seat  of  state,  cheered  him  on,  laughed 
uproariously  at  his  witticisms  as  well  as  at  his  studied 
and  serious  periods,  and  could  never  have  enough  of 
him.  It  was  a  long  time  since  any  speaker  at  the  Union 
had  amused  his  audience  so  well,  and  he  was  in  the  sev- 
enth heaven  of  delight  at  his  popularity  until  the  elec- 
tions for  the  officers  at  the  end  of  the  term,  when  both 
he  and  M'Gee  stood  for  the  committee,  and  appeared  at 
the  bottom  of  the  list,  M'Gee  with  thirty  votes  and 
Mr.  Binney  with  six.  This  was  a  serious  blow  to  him, 
and  he  began  to  realise  that  he  had  been  looked  upon 
as  a  buffoon. 

But  before  this  other  things  had  happened.  Al- 
though debarred  from  the  society  of  those  with  whom 
he  had  at  first  tried  to  ally  himself,  Mr.  Binney  had 
contracted  many  acquaintanceships  with  men  of  his  own 
year  and  others  who  did  not  place  the  value  of  their 
friendship  very  high.     The  boys  fresh  from  school  who 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION        89 

had  come  up  at  the  same  time  as  himself  looked  upon 
him  as  a  great  joke,  ate  his  breakfasts  and  luncheons 
and  occasional  dinners,  and  asked  him  to  their  own  in 
return.  As  he  showed  himself  anxious  to  be  consid- 
ered one  of  themselves,  they  obliged  him,  with  perhaps 
more  familiarity  and  slappings  on  the  back  than  they 
usually  made  use  of  to  one  another.  But  Mr.  Binney 
enjoyed  it  and  felt  he  was  getting  on  famously.  He 
greatly  appreciated  the  tales  of  daring  which  freshmen 
love  to  tell  one  another,  about  exciting  runs  from  aveng- 
ing Proctors,  and  smart,  one-sided  conversations  with 
Deans,  in  which  the  freshman  is  always  represented  as 
using  such  witty  and  convincing  arguments  that  the 
Dean  can  only  sit  and  listen,  and  is  glad  to  get  rid  of 
him  at  last  at  any  price  if  he  will  only  allow  the  manage- 
ment of  the  college  to  remain  in  its  present  inefficient 
hands  a  little  longer.  Mr.  Binney  had  not  as  yet  emu- 
lated any  of  these  deeds  of  daring,  for  he  still  looked 
upon  the  authorities  with  considerable  awe,  and  was 
turning  his  attention  for  the  most  part  towards  get- 
ting his  work  ready  for  the  first  part  of  the  Littlego 
and  maintaining  his  reputation  at  the  Union.  But  he 
thought  them  very  fine  for  all  that,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  fell. 

Among  his  fellow-freshmen  was  one,  Brandon,  a 
Rugby  football-player,  who  had  once  or  twice  played 
for  the  University.  He  was  not  a  Blue  yet,  but  he 
was  the  next  best  thing  to  it,  and  Mr.  Binney  culti-' 


90  PETER  BINNEY 

vatcd  his  society  in  the  intervals  of  his  more  serious 
pursuits.  Brandon  had  a  friend  calktl  Howden  who 
was  a  Bkie,  a  ^reat,  noisy,  good-natured,  ignorant  ox, 
who  was  in  constant  danger  of  being  sent  down  for  his 
numerous  breaches  of  discipline. 

Howden  came  into  Brandon's  rooms  one  morning  to 
fish  for  a  dinner,  his  affairs  being  in  a  chronic  state  of 
financial  depression.  He  used  no  unnecessary  finesse 
in  stating  his  ends. 

"  I've  taken  my  name  off  hall  to-night,"  he  said, 
"  and  don't  know  where  to  feed.  Got  anything  going, 
Brandy?" 

"  I'm  going  to  dine  with  Binney,"  said  Brandon. 
"  You'd  better  come  too." 

"  What !  that  stuck-up  ass !  "  said  Howden.  "  Didn't 
know  you  knew  him.  No,  thanks.  I  don't  mix  with 
Bloods." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  mean  Lucy  Binney,"  said  Brandon, 
"  I  don't  know  him.     The  bantam's  my  pal." 

"What!  that  little  old  man!"  exclaimed  Howden. 
"  Whatever  do  you  want  to  go  and  dine  wifh  him  for? 
He'll  report  you  to  the  dons  if  you  m.xke  a  row,  and  I 
don't  care  for  dining  where  I  can't  enjoy  myself." 

"  My  dear  chap,"  said  Brandon,  "  you  can  make  as 
much  row  as  you  like.  He'll  be  all  the  better  pleased. 
He's  a  tremendous  little  sportsman.  He  gives  you  the 
best  fi//  and  as  much  as  vou  want  of  it." 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION        91 

*'  The  deuce  he  does !  All  right,  I'll  come,  Brandy. 
I  don't  know  him.     I  suppose  that  don't  matter." 

"Not  a  bit,"  said  Brandon.  "I'll  make  that  all 
right.     19a  Jesus  Lane,  eight  o'clock." 

"  Right  you  are,"  said  Howden.  "  Don't  forget.  I 
shall  turn  up." 

Mr.  Binney  was  as  pleased  as  Punch  when  he  learnt 
that  he  was  at  last  going  to  be  honoured  by  the  com- 
pany of  a  Blue,  and  made  an  excuse  to  write  a  note  to 
Minshull  in  which  he  casually  mentioned  that  he  was 
expecting  Howden,  "  who  plays  back  for  the  'Varsity," 
to  dinner  that  night. 

Howden  came  and  made  himself  agreeable  to  his  host. 
Mr.  Binney  was  delighted  to  find  that  such  a  great 
man  was  not  inclined  to  stand  on  any  ceremony.  The 
rest  of  the  party  were  freshmen,  who  were  also  in- 
clined to  treat  the  great  Howden  with  deference,  but 
in  the  course  of  the  dinner  the  deference  vanished,  and 
the  company  got  hilarious  and  on  perfectly  good  terms 
with  one  another.  After  dinner  they  "  ragged,"  and 
played  a  little  game  of  "  Soccer  "  with  a  sofa  cushion, 
in  the  course  of  which  Mr.  Binney  got  the  wind  knocked 
out  of  his  body,  and  was  not  sorry  when  his  landlord 
came  up  to  inform  him  that  the  chandelier  in  the  room 
below  had  fallen  down. 

"  Let's  go  round  and  rag  old  Tubby  Vane,"  said 
Howden. 


92  PETER  BINNEY 

Vane  was  another  football  Blue,  and  lived  in  college. 
So  the  party  moved  round  in  a  body  to  the  New  Court. 
Vane  kept  on  the  third  floor,  and  was  out,  so  his  visi- 
tors were  baffled  for  the  moment. 

"  There's  old  Miniken  keeps  below,"  said  Mr.  Binney, 
who  was  enjoying  himself  to  the  full  in  this  distinguished 
company.     "  Let's  go  and  rag  him." 

Miniken  was  a  Union  light,  a  quiet  reading  man, 
when  he  was  not  thundering  forth  Radical  views  in  the 
debates.  Mr.  Binney  did  not  know  him  very  well,  but 
wished  to  display  the  brilliant  Howden  to  his  astonished 
gaze. 

"  All  right,"  said  Howden.  "  Never  heard  of  him, 
but  I  daresay  he  keeps  very  good  whisky.     Come  on." 

Miniken's  oak  was  sported. 

"  He's  skulking,"  said  Howden.  "  Let's  kick  his 
oak  in." 

"  Hi !  Miniken !  Come  out  of  that,  you  old  beg- 
gar," yelled  Mr.  Binney;  but  all  was  silence. 

Howden  took  a  short  run  and  kicked  in  a  panel.  Mr. 
Binney  took  a  short  run  at  the  same  panel,  and  got 
his  foot  wedged.  When  he  had  been  extricated  with 
unnecessary  violence  by  his  companions,  a  combined  as- 
sault was  made  u])on  the  oak,  which  presently  gave 
way.     The  rooms  were  empty. 

Howden  turned  up  the  lights  and  made  a  search  for 
something  to  drink,  which  was  unsuccessful,  as  Miniken 
was    a    teetotaller.     Then    they    "  made    hay "    of    his 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION       93 

rooms,  and,  after  completely  changing  their  aspect,  left, 
to  avoid  an  interview  with  a  porter  who  was  coming 
up  the  staircase  to  see  what  the  disturbance  was  about. 
Mr.  Binney  never  doubted  but  that  Miniken  would  be 
quite  as  amused  as  themselves  when  he  came  back,  and 
not  a  little  flattered  at  receiving  a  visit  from  the  august 
Howden,  if  he  found  out  who  was  responsible  for  the 
altered  appearance  of  his  apartments. 

When  Miniken  did  return  he  was  naturally  annoyed 
at  the  discovery  of  what  had  taken  place.  He  obtained 
from  the  porter  the  names  of  his  invaders,  and  sat 
down  and  wrote  a  letter  of  complaint  to  the  Senior 
Dean.  Then  he  put  his  room  to  rights  and  went  to 
bed. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Binney  went  home,  greatly 
pleased  with  his  evening's  entertainment.  Before  retir- 
ing to  rest  he  wrote  a  full  account  of  it  to  Mrs.  Higgin- 
bothara,  and  expatiated  on  the  popularity  that  must 
accrue  to  him  from  having  made  a  friend  of  Howden, 
who,  before  parting  from  him,  had  assured  him  that  he 
was  one  of  the  best  fellows  he  had  ever  met,  and  that 
he  would  stick  by  him  and  come  and  dine  with  him 
whenever  he  liked. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Binney  was  requested  to  call  on 
the  Junior  Dean  at  a  specified  hour.  He  did  so  with 
some  inward  trepidation,  and  waited  in  the  ante-room 
where  a  secretary  was  at  work,  who  informed  him  that 
the  Dean  was  engaged,  but  would  see  him  in  a  few  mm- 


94  PETER  BINNEY 

utes.  Presently  steps  were  heard  on  the  staircase,  and 
to  his  surprise  Lucius  entered  tlie  room. 

"Halloa!  you  hauled  too?"  said  the  little  man  with 
a  sheepish  grin.     "  What  for?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  Chapels,  I  suppose,"  said  Lucius, 
who  had  heard  of  his  father's  escapade,  and  whose  face 
was  covered  with  a  deep  hlush. 

"  I  hope  we  shan't  get  gated,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  What  are  you  going  to  say  to  the  old  chap?  " 

Before  Lucius  had  time  to  reply  the  Dean's  door 
opened,  and  Mr.  Binney  was  summoned  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  "  old  chap,"  who  had  been  in  frocks  when 
"  Binney's  Food  for  Poultry "  was  first  becoming 
known. 

"  Sit  down,  Mr.  Binney,"  said  the  Dean,  who  ap- 
peared unaccountably  nervous.  "  I  see  you  have  not 
kept  the  requisite  number  of  chapels  since  the  begin- 
ning of  term.  Is  there  any  reason  for  that?  I  see  by 
my  list  that  you  have  not  been  once  to  chapel  on  a 
Sunday." 

Mr.  Binney  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief  and  drew  him- 
self up. 

"  I  prefer  to  attend  my  own  place  of  worship  on 
the  Sabbath,"  he  said,  twisting  his  cap  by  the  tassel. 

"Ah!  you  are  perliaps  a  Nonconformist,"  said  the 
Dean. 

"I  am,"  said  Mr.  Binney;  "and  I'm  not  ashamed 
of  it." 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION       95 

"  No  reason  to  be,  Mr.  Binney,"  said  the  Dean.  "  I 
needn't  trouble  you  any  more  on  that  score  then,"  and 
he  made  a  pencil  note  on  the  paper  before  him.  "  But 
there  is  another  matter,"  he  went  on,  "  which,  I  con- 
fess, it  surprises  me  to  have  to  bring  before  a  man  of 
your — er — standing.  I  understand  that  you  and  some 
others  broke  in  the  door  of  Mr.  Miniken's  rooms  last 
night,  and  took  most  unwarrantable  liberties  with  his 
furniture.  I  could  hardly  believe  it,  but  I  am  assured 
that  it  is  so." 

"  It  was  a  mere  freak,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney  boldly. 
"  I  went  round  with  Howden — the  football  Blue " 

"  You  needn't  bring  in  anybody  else's  name,"  said 
the  Dean. 

"  Well,  we  went  round  to  call  on — on  another  foot- 
ball Blue,  but  he  was  out,  and  as  old  Miniken,  who  is 
a  friend  of  mine,  happened  to  live  below  him,  I  said, 
*  Let's  go  and  rouse  him  up.'  He  was  sported,  so  we 
kicked  in  his  oak  for  a  lark.  We  didn't  mean  any 
harm.  Of  course,  I'm  quite  willing  to  pay  for  repair- 
ing the  door." 

The  Dean  passed  his  hand  over  his  mouth. 

"  That  you  will  have  to  do,  of  course,  you  and  the 
others  between  you,"  he  said.  "  But  I  may  as  well 
tell  you,  Mr.  Binney,  that  we  don't  recognise  such  larks 
here.  If  you  want  to  behave  like  a  troublesome  boy, 
you  had  better  go  somewhere  else.  You  are  gated  at 
^eight  for  a  fortnight,  and  don't  let  me  hear  of  any  such 


96  PETER  BINNEY 

piece  of  folly  again,  or  you  won't  get  off  so  easily." 

Mr.  Binncy  took  himself  off  feeling  rather  ashamed, 
but  still  a  little  pleased  with  himself.  "  Gated  at  eight 
for  a  fortnight,"  he  said,  as  he  joined  his  son  in  the 
ante-room,  where  Blathgowrie  had  also  made  his  ap- 
pearance. 

"  Serve  you  right,  you  little  ass,"  said  Blathgowrie 
as  Lucius  entered  the  presence  chamber.  "  Now  run 
along  and  play." 

"  You  were  not  with  3'our  father,  I  think,  when  the 
door  in  the  New  Court  was  broken  in?  "  said  the 
Dean. 

"  No,  I  wasn't,"  said  Lucius  shortly,  his  face  a  deep 
red. 

The  Dean  threw  a  quick  glance  at  him. 

"  Is  your  father — .''  "  he  began,  and  then  stopped. 

"Off  his  head.?"  said  Lucius.  "I  don't  know.  I 
never  thought  he  was  until  he  came  up  here..  I  know  / 
shall  be,  pretty  soon,  if  this  goes  on." 

"  I  didn't  mean  that,"  said  the  Dean,  "  I  was  going 
to  ask  if  he  intended  to  stop  here  until  he  takes  a 
degree." 

"  I  suppose  so,  if  he  isn't  sent  down  first,"  said 
Lucius  bitterly. 

The  Dean  could  not  disguise  a  smile.  "  Don't  get 
downhearted  about  it,  Binney,"  he  said  kindly,  "  we've 
all  got  our  little  trials  to  bear.  One  of  mine  is  having 
continually  to  ask  undergraduates  why  they  don't  come 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION        97 

to  chapel.  I  see  you  haven't  kept  a  single  chapel  this 
term.     How  is  that.''  " 

"  I  was  afraid  I  might  meet  my  father,"  said  Lucius. 

The  Dean  smiled  again. 

"  Your  father  has  conscientious  objections  to  joining 
in  our  services,"  he  said,  "  and  I'm  afraid  I  couldn't 
accept  that  as  an  excuse  in  any  case.  Have  you  been 
anywhere  instead?  " 

"  I  go  to  King's  sometimes." 

"  Well,  I  think  you  had  better  come  to  Trinity  some- 
times too  in  the  future.     Good-night,  Binney." 

His  introduction  to  Howden  was  the  beginning  of 
Mr.  Binney's  fall  from  steadiness.  He  soon  made  the 
acquaintance  of  other  athletes  of  similar  character  to 
Howden,  and  was  very  proud  of  being  seen  about  with 
them.  These  accommodating  gentlemen  had  no  sort  of 
objection  to  his  being  constantly  in  their  company,  so 
long  as  he  fed  them  generously  and  put  no  check  on 
their  boisterous  behaviour  when  he  was  with  them.  And 
Mr.  Binney  was  far  from  wishing  to  do  this.  The  new 
cap  which  he  had  bought  under  Lucius's  directions  was 
soon  exchanged  for  a  very  old  and  battered  one. 
Howden  and  all  his  friends  were  rowdies,  and  Mr.  Bin- 
ney in  his  mild  way  became  a  rowdy  too. 

One  Tuesday  evening  towards  the  end  of  the  term, 
Lucius  found  himself  in  the  gallery  at  the  Union  listen- 
ing to  a  debate  on  the  motion :  "  That  this  house  views 
with  alarm  the  growing  tyranny  of  University  officials," 


98  PETER  BINNEY 

and  sat  deject idiv  througli  an  uproariously  applauded 
speech  from  liis  lather,  in  the  course  of  which  Mr. 
Binney  inquired  '*  why  a  fellow  shouldn't  smoke  in  cap 
and  gown  if  he  wanted  to,"  and  was  twice  called  to 
order  for  alluding  to  "  the  progginses." 

"  Come  out  of  this ;  it  makes  me  sick,"  he  said  to  his 
companion.  They  went  out  and  strolled  slowly  down 
Jesus  Lane  to  Edwards's  billiard  rooms.  Opposite  the 
"  Pitt,"  Mr.  Binney  passed  them  w  ith  two  of  his  noisy 
friends,  carrying  his  gown  on  his  arm.  He  did  not 
notice  them,  nor  a  Proctor  who  was  coming  along  Park 
Street,  and  Lucius  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  his 
father  sto])j)cd  at  the  corner,  and  peremptorily  ordered 
to  put  on  his  gown  by  the  Proctor.  Mr.  Binney  did 
as  he  was  told,  taking  off  his  gown  again  when  the 
Proctor  had  turned  his  back,  and  was  let  into  his  lodg- 
ings feeling  himself  the  very  devil  of  a  fellow. 

After  his  first  escapade  with  Howdcn,  Mr.  Binney 
was  a  little  upset  by  a  letter  he  received  from  Mrs. 
Higginbotham  in  answer  to  the  one  in  which  he  had 
given  her  an  account  of  the  proceedings. 

"  You  must  not  let  yourself  be  led  away  by  your 
high  spirits,"  wrote  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  "  and  pray 
be  careful  that  those  new  grand  young  friends  you  have 
made  do  not  lead  you  astray.  I  should  like  you  to 
keep  a  good  character  with  your  masters  and  bring 
home  a  good  report  at  the  end  of  the  term.  My  dear 
father    often    used    to    say    that    he    would    rather   my 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION        99 

brothers  won  the  conduct  prize  at  school  than  any 
other,  and  they  always  did  so,  which  pleased  my  father 
very  much  until  he  discovered  that  they  used  to  buy 
the  prizes  themselves  out  of  their  very  liberal  allowance 
of  pocket  money  and  write  their  master's  name  in  them, 
which  was  not  right,  and  earned  them  a  whipping  from 
Mr.  Wilkinson  who  was  at  that  time  the  head  of  the 
Lewisham  Academy  for  Young  Gentlemen,  where  they 
were  educated,  as  well  as  another  from  my  father,  which 
they  told  me  was  far  the  worse  of  the  two,  as  I  can 
quite  credit,  because  my  dear  father,  who  made  his  own 
way  in  the  world,  had  been  employed  in  early  life  in  a 
furniture  warehouse,  and  among  his  duties  was  that  of 
beating  carpets." 

Mr.  Binney  wrote  in  answer  that  little  occurrences 
such  as  the  one  in  which  he  had  taken  part  were  common 
in  Cambridge  and  increased  the  fame  of  those  who 
inaugurated  them,  and  rebuked  Mrs.  Higginbotham  for 
talking  of  his  "  masters."  "  The  'Varsity  is  not  a 
school,  my  dear  Martha,"  wrote  Mr.  Binney,  "  and  we 
are  allowed  a  great  deal  of  freedom  to  amuse  ourselves 
as  we  please." 

Mr.  Binney  and  Lucius  now  saw  very  little  of  one 
another,  but  before  Mr.  Binney  had  allied  himself  with 
Howden  and  his  crew,  Lucius  had  paid  him  a  visit  one 
afternoon  and  found  a  young  man  with  a  long,  solemn 
face  not  unlike  Minshull's  sitting  on  Mr.  Binnev's 
sofa. 


100  PETER  BINNEY 

"  AJ),  Lucius,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  I'm  glad  you  have 
come.  This  is  your  mother's  cousin,  John  Jermyn, 
whose  father  you  may  have  heard  me  speak  of  as  a  re- 
spected clergyman  in  Norfolk.  John  tells  me  he  has 
gained  a  scholarship  at  Queens'  and  I  am  very  glad  to 
hear  it — very  glad.  It  is  most  laudable  of  him.  We 
must  go  and  call  on  liiiii  when  we  have  time.  Let 
me  see,  where  is  Queens'.''  That  little  college  at  the 
end  of  the  Backs  with  a  wooden  bridge,  isn't  it?  Quite 
so.  A  very  nice  little  college  indeed.  I  should  have 
liked  to  have  been  at  Queens'  myself  if  I  hadn't  been 
at  Trinity.  Pity  you  couldn't  come  to  Trinity,  John. 
However,  we  can't  all  be  at  the  best  college,  can  we?  " 

After  a  little  more  patronage  from  his  uncle,  John 
Jermyn  took  his  leave. 

"  You  must  look  that  young  fellow  up,  Lucius,"  said 
Mr.  Binney,  "  and  he  tells  me  his  sister  Elizabeth  is 
at  Girton.  They  both  came  up  this  term.  A  clever 
family.  You  must  go  and  call  on  her  too — I  believe 
it's  allowed — I  don't  care  about  going  out  there  myself. 
Their  mother  was  a  great  friend  of  your  dear  mother's 
when  they  were  girls  together.  We  never  saw  much  of 
her  after  she  was  married,  for  her  husband  held  his 
head  high,  although  I  have  never  heard  that  he  was  at 
Trinity  or  any  good  college  as  a  young  man.  It  is  our 
turn  to  hold  our  heads  high  now,  but  you  must  cer- 
tainly call  on  John  and  Elizabeth,  and  show  them  that 
we  are  not  too  proud  to  recognise  our  relations." 


MR.  BINNEY  SPEAKS  AT  THE  UNION      101 

Lucius  did  call  on  John  Jermjn  soon  afterwards  and 
asked  him  to  lunch.  The  two  young  men  found  they 
had  very  little  in  common  and  the  acquaintanceship 
dropped. 


CHArXER  VIII 


THE    NEWNHAM    GIRL 


The  morning  hours  in  Cambridge  are  for  books,  the 
afternoon  for  exercise,  and  the  evening  for  social  inter- 
course. So,  at  least,  the  majority  of  tlu-  undergradu- 
ate members  of  the  University  regard  them,  and  some- 
times throw  in  an  extra  hour  or  two  of  work  between 
tea  and  dinner.  Of  course  there  are  those  who  work 
all  the  evening  as  well  as  all  the  morning,  and  there 
are  others  who  do  not  work  at  all ;  but  the  morning 
for  lectures  and  books  is  a  general  rule,  and  one  that 
has  few  exceptions,  however  squeezed  up  the  morning 
may  be  between  late  breakfast  and  early  luncheon.  If 
you  go  into  the  Great  Court  of  Trinity,  let  us  say  about 
ten  minutes  to  eleven  in  the  morning,  you  will  find  it, 
comparatively  speaking,  deserted.  Quite  deserted  it 
never  is,  unless  in  the  dead  hours  of  night,  and  not 
always  then ;  but  now  its  chief  occupants  appear  to  be 
the  bed-makers,  who  empty  their  pails  down  the  grat- 
ings, or  stand  for  a  few  minutes'  gossip  by  their  re- 
spective staircases.  Every  now  and  then  an  idler 
passes  through  in  a  leisurely  manner,  or  a  don  scurries 
across  the  grass  in  a  terrible  hurry.  WTiite-aproned 
cooks  from  the  college  kitchens  collect  plate  and  crock- 
ery from  the  various  gyp-rooms  and  carry  them  away 

102 


THE  NEWNHAM  GIRL  103 

in  green  boxes  balanced  on  their  heads.  Tradesmen's 
boys,  their  baskets  on  their  arms,  pass  from  one  stair- 
case to  another,  quite  unawed  by  their  surroundings, 
whistling  as  if  their  errands  were  taking  them  down  a 
street  of  numbered  houses  instead  of  to  the  studious 
rooms  of  a  venerable  college,  for  centuries  devoted  to 
learning.  But  of  the  undergraduate  life  which  is  so 
busy  in  the  courts  of  a  college  at  other  times  of  the 
day  there  is  very  little,  for  most  undergraduates  are 
listening  to  lecturers  or  coaches,  or  reading  in  their 
own  rooms. 

But  the  hour  strikes  and  everything  is  changed. 
Men  in  gowns  of  blue  or  black,  with  note-books  under 
their  arms,  come  pouring  out  of  the  lecture-rooms  into 
the  court.  Interspersed  with  them  are  the  lecturers, 
laden  with  books,  their  long  gowns  and  ribbons  flying; 
and  most  curious  of  all,  little  groups  of  girls  stand 
about  the  court  waiting  until  it  is  time  for  another 
lecturer  to  appear  and  dart  hurriedly  into  the  room 
where  his  wisdom  is  to  keep  them  entranced  for  the  next 
hour.  How  horrified  our  grandfathers  would  have  been 
could  they  have  pictured  girls  and  men  sitting  in  the 
same  lecture-room  to-day,  and  how  incredulous,  could 
they  have  been  told  what  a  very  little  difference  such  an 
unforeseen  arrangement  would  make  in  the  daily  life  of 
their  colleges.  For  the  women  are  already  in  Cam- 
bridge. They  have  their  own  colleges,  and  if  they  have 
not  yet  their  own  lecturers,  they  make  very  good  use 


104  FETEU  BLNNEY 

of  ours.  And,  strange  to  say,  nobody  takes  much  no- 
tice of  them,  or  realises  that  they  are  there  at  all, 
except  when  they  form  their  little  groups  round  the 
college  doorways,  or  when  their  names  are  read  out  be- 
fore those  of  the  men  in  the  Senate  House,  or  when 
they  want  something  which  Cambridge  with  all  its 
chiv^Ury  is  not  quite  prepared  to  give  them. 

One  such  little  group  of  girls  was  standing  by  the 
Trinity  Chapel  one  bright  November  morning  in  the 
first  term  of  Lucius's  second  year,  waiting  for  the 
learned  gentleman  who  was  to  lecture  to  them  during 
the  next  hour  on  some  subject  connected  with  the 
Classical  Tripos.  The  learned  gentleman  was  a  little 
late  and  all  the  other  lecturers  had  by  this  time  penned 
their  flocks  and  Avcre  busily  engaged  in  feeding,  and 
in  some  cases  shearing  them.  The  men  who  were  booked 
for  the  same  lecture  as  the  girls  were  standing  in  twos 
and  threes  a  little  distance  away,  or  strolling  up  and 
down  the  flagged  pathways.  At  ten  minutes  past  the 
hour  the  lecturer  was  seen  approacliing  at  a  hurried 
pace  from  the  direction  of  Neville's  Court,  and  a  minute 
later,  girls,  men,  and  lecturer  liad  disappeared,  and 
the  Great  Court  had  settled  down  again  to  its  normal 
morning  condition   of  dignified   calm. 

One  of  the  girls  was  conspicuously  attractive.  She 
wore  a  neat  costume  of  blue  serge  and  a  hat  that  showed 
up  the  gold  of  her  pretty  luad.  Her  eyes  were 
blue   and   innocent,  her   little   nose  had    a   mischievous 


THE  NEWNHAM  GIRL  105 

tilt  to  it,  and  her  mouth  was  like  Cupid's  bow.  These 
last  named  attractions  were  not  visible  to  Lucius  Bin- 
ney,  who  sat  at  the  corner  of  a  desk  a  few  rows  behind 
her;  but  he  had  a  good  view  of  the  soft  curves  of  a 
delicate  tinted  cheek,  and  a  little  shell-like  ear  perched 
coquettishly  underneath  the  wavy  brown  hair,  and,  to 
do  him  justice,  these  beauties  were  not  unappreciated 
by  him,  for  he  paid  a  good  deal  more  attention  to  them 
than  to  the  dulcet  tones  of  the  learned  lecturer.  It 
was  now  about  the  middle  of  the  Michaelmas  term,  and 
Lucius  had  already  sat  in  the  same  corner  and  looked 
at  the  same  girl  three  times  a  week  since  the  beginning 
of  term,  eleven  times  in  all,  and  each  time  he  looked  his 
sense  of  the  beautiful  was  more  satisfied  than  before. 
Besides  minor  varieties  the  girl  sometimes  wore  another 
costume  of  grey-green  cloth  and  a  felt  hat  to  match, 
with  a  woodcock's  tip  in  it.  Lucius  was  like  the  lover 
in  Tennyson's  poem  who  speaks  of  his  lady's  dresses : — 

"Now  I  know  her  but  in  two, 
Nor  can  pronounce  upon  it. 
If  one  should  ask  me  whether 
The  habit,  hat  and  feather, 
Or   the   frock   and   gipsy   bonnet 
Be   the   neater   and   completer; 
For  nothing  could  be  sweeter 
Than  maiden   Maud  in  either." 

He  sometimes  spoke  of  her  to  Dizzy,  who  attended 
the  same  lecture,  and  whose  admiration  of  the  girl  was 
aesthetically  great,  but  had  not  succeeded  in  penetrat- 
ing  his    feelings.     These    two    would    hang    about    the 


106  PETER  BINNEY 

court,  chatting  unconcernedly  together,  while  she  went 
out  througli  the  Great  Gate  with  her  companions. 
After  the  first  week,  when  Lucius's  appreciation  of  her 
charms  liad  hegun  to  l)ite  a  little,  she  sometimes  gave 
him  the  merest  glance  out  of  the  corners  of  her  blue 
eyes  as  she  passed  him.  There  seemed  to  be  a  trace 
of  amusement  lurking  in  the  glance,  and  Lucius  under- 
stood that  his  admiration,  although  by  no  means  ob- 
trusive, had  been  observed — and  dared  he  hope  in  some 
measure  accepted? — by  its  object. 

"  Oh,  Dizzy,  old  man,  she  really  is — that  girl !  " 
sighed  Lucius,  after  silently  watching  the  blue  serge 
coat  and  skirt  and  the  fair  hair  under  the  little  hat 
disappear  round  the  corner.     "  She  really  is — " 

What  she  really  was  did  not  transpire,  but  Dizzy 
quite  understood  and  agreed. 

"  She's  a  topper,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I  can't  say  fairer 
than  that.      She's  a  topper." 

"  Have  you  noticed  those  little  fluffy  curls  on  her 
neck.?"  inquired  Lucius.  "With  most  girls  they  stick 
out  straight  and  look  as  if  they  ought  to  be  tucked  in 
somewhere.     ]Jut  hers  don't." 

"  Why  don't  you  take  a  snap-shot  at  them  with  a 
Kodak  in  the  lecture-room  .'^  "  suggested  Dizzy. 

Lucius  did  buy  a  Kodak  after  this,  and  stayed  away 
from  the  charmed  lecture-room  one  morning  with  a 
heavy  heart,  in  order  to  take  photographs  of  the  girl 
as  she  went  through  the  court  to  and  from  the  lecture. 


THE  NEWNHAM  GIRL  107 

He  ensconced  himself  in  a  friend's  rooms  on  the  kitchen 
staircase,  the  nearest  position  he  could  gain,  for  he 
did  not  want  her  to  see  him  standing  in  the  court ;  but 
after  pressing  the  button  feverishly  six  or  eight  times, 
and  waiting  impatiently  for  three  weeks  until  the  other 
people  had  done  the  rest,  he  was  rewarded  with  several 
curious  pictures  of  fog  effects,  only  one  of  which  showed 
a  scene  which  could  be  recognised  as  the  Great  Court, 
with  a  few  dark  little  spots  some  miles  away,  which 
Lucius  interpreted  as  the  girl  and  her  companions  leav- 
ing the  college,  but  did  not  gain  much  satisfaction  from 
the  possession  of  them  even  with  the  help  of  a  magnify- 
ing glass. 

The  girl  was  a  Newnhamite  (hideous  word!).  Lucius 
and  Dizzy  knew  that  much,  though  they  could  not  dis- 
cover her  name.  She  must  have  known  theirs,  for  the 
lecturer  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  them  over  after  each 
lecture.  Unfortunately  he  omitted  to  do  so  in  the  case 
of  the  lady  students. 

"  It's  just  my  luck,  you  know,"  said  Lucius  discon- 
solately. "  I've  got  a  cousin  of  sorts  at  Girton.  I 
ought  to  have  looked  her  up  before  now — I  promised 
the  governor  I  would — and  I'd  have  done  it  pretty 
quick,  you  bet,  if  she  had  had  the  sense  to  go  to  the 
other  place." 

"  What  is  she  like?  "  asked  Dizzy. 

"  I  don't  know.  I've  never  seen  her.  She  Is  a  sister 
of  my  cousin  at  Queens'." 


108  PETER  BINNEY 


(( 


Oh,  I  should  look  her  up  if  I  were  you.      She  may 
be  pretty,"  said  Dizzy. 

"  Have  you  seen  my  cousin  at  Queens'?  " 

Dizzy  had,  and  acknowledged  that  the  inferences  were 
not  encouraging. 

"  Still  there's  no  telling,"  he  said.  "  She  may  be  a 
regular  topper." 

"  Her  father's  a  country  parson,"  said  Lucius,  "  and 
she  has  never  been  anywhere.  I  don't  see  the  fun  of 
tramping  out  to  Girton  to  see  a  fat  girl  with  spec- 
tacles." 

"  And  a  space  between  her  belt  and  the  top  of  her 
skirt  with  hooks  and  eyes  showing,"  added  Dizzy. 
"  No,  I  agree  with  you  it  isn't  good  enough,  although, 
of  course,  she  may  be  a  topper,  you  can't  tell." 

Lucius  did  bicycle  out  to  Girton  before  the  end  of  the 
term  along  a  straight  and  appallingly  hideous  road, 
only  to  find  Miss  Jermyn  "  not  at  home "  at  the  end 
of  it,  and  then  dismissed  his  cousin  Elizabeth  and  Girton 
College  from  his  mind,  and  indulged  himself  in  roseate 
dreams  of  the  Newnham  girl  instead.  Although  he  was 
constantly  ])lunged  in  shame  at  the  behaviour  of  his 
father,  and  was  gradually  growing  poorer  and  poorer 
as  time  went  on,  owing  to  Mr.  Binne3''s  relentless  views 
on  the  subject  of  filial  conduct,  his  first  term  at  Cam- 
bridge in  the  companionship  of  his  father  was  not  alto- 
gether an  unhappy  one. 

At  the  end  of  it  Mr.  Binney  went  in  for  the  first  part 


THE  NEWNHAM  GIRL  109 

of  his  Little-go  and  failed  ignominiously,  for  his  work 
had  greatly  deteriorated  since  he  had  been  admitted  to 
the  friendship  of  Howden  and  the  rest.  But  the  dis- 
quieting news  did  not  reach  him  until  he  had  left  Cam- 
bridge at  the  beginning  of  the  Christmas  vacation,  and 
that  blow  was  not  added  to  the  one  caused  by  his  failure 
at  the  Union,  and  another  which  befel  him  at  the  end 
of  term  in  the  shape  of  an  interview  with  his  Tutor. 

Mr.  Rimington  looked  grave  as  Mr.  Binney  entered 
his  presence,  and  shook  hands  with  him  without  his 
usual  smile. 

"  Sit  down,  please,  Mr.  Binney,"  he  said.  "  I  didn't 
send  for  you  when  I  heard  about  that  foolish  affair  in 
Mr.  Miniken's  rooms,  because  I  thought  you  must  have 
taken  part  in  it  against  your  will,  and  I  couldn't  but 
believe  that  nothing  of  the  sort  would  happen  again. 
But  I  learn,  to  my  surprise,  that  you  seem  to  have  made 
a — a  specialty  of  that  sort  of  behaviour,  and  however 
unpleasant  the  duty  may  be,  I  must  remonstrate  seri- 
ously with  you  on  the  course  you  have  adopted 
here." 

Mr.  Binney's  mouth  was  dry.  Mr.  Rimlngton's  tone 
was  more  conciliatory  than  that  of  the  Junior  Dean, 
but  the  latter,  after  his  first  few  words,  had  treated 
him  just  like  any  other  undergraduate,  while  Mr. 
Rimington  addressed  him  as  a  middle-aged  gentleman 
who  had  been  making  a  fool  of  himself ;  and  Mr.  Binney 
disliked  this  above  all  things. 


no  TETER  BINNEY 

Mr.  Kimington  paused,  and  Mr.  Binncy  felt  he  was 
expected  to  speak. 

"  I  was  gated  for  that  affair  of  Miniken's,  sir,"  he 
said  with  a  gulj),  "  and  the  subject  ought  to  be  at  an 
end.  It  was  foolish,  perhaps,  but  it  was  all  done  in 
good  part,  and  I  had  no  idea  the  man  would  make  such 
a  fuss  about  it.  Since  then  I  am  not  aware  of  having 
done  anything  to  bring  my  conduct  under  the  notice 
of  the  officials  of  the  college." 

Mr.  Kimington  heard  him  out  in  grave  silence. 
"  You  have  done  nothing  that  has  actually  had  to  be 
punished,"  he  said,  "  but  if  you  imagine,  Mr.  Binncy, 
that  your  conduct  has  not  come  Aery  seriously  under 
the  notice  of  the  officials  of  tiie  college,  you  are  mis- 
taken. Behaviour  that  would  not  call  for  much  remark 
from  a  boy  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  is  a  different  matter 
in  a  man  of  your  age.  For  one  thing  it  is  demoralising 
in  the  extreme  to  the  undergraduates  with  whom  you 
associate.  It  is  a  very  disagreeable  task  to  have  to 
point  this  out  to  you,  and  I  must  say  that  it  surprises 
me  exceedingly  that  there  should  be  any  necessity  for 
my  having  to  do  so."  He  paused  so  as  to  give  Mr. 
Binncy  a  chance  of  speaking,  who,  however,  took  no 
advantage  of  his  opportunity,  but  sat  gazing  on  the 
carpet.  His  attitude  seemed  to  show  that  he  was 
taking  his  Tutor's  remonstrances  to  heart,  but  a  slight 
frown  on  his  brow  and  the  set  of  his  mouth  belied  that 
assumption. 


THE  NEWNHAM  GIRL  111 

"  Have  you  anything  to  say,  Mr.  Binney  ?  "  asked 
the  Tutor. 

"I  should  like  to  hear  what  you  have  got  to  say 
first,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  Then  I  will  give  utter- 
ance to  my  opinions." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  Rimington.  "  Then  I  had 
better  say  what  I  have  got  to  say  in  as  few  words  and 
as  strongly  as  possible.  When  we  talked  over  your 
coming  up  here  as  an  undergraduate  in  the  spring,  I 
pointed  out  that  it  would  hardly  be  fair  to  your  son 
to  be  under  your  constant  supervision,  and  I  pointed 
out  other  reasons  why  I  thought  you  should  reconsider 
your  decision.  You  did  not  agree  with  me,  and  the 
objections  were  not  strong  enough  to  induce  the  college 
to  refuse  your  application  when  you  persisted  in  making 
it.  No  man  in  his  senses  could  have  foreseen  that  at 
the  end  of  your  first  term,  your  son,  who  has  been  here 
over  a  year,  should  bear  a  high  character  in  the  college, 
while  you,  his  father,  should  be  giving  us  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  in  matters  of  conduct.  If  that  could  have 
been  foreseen  I  need  scarcely  say  that  we  should  not 
have  admitted  you. 

"  Now,  look  here,  Mr.  Rimington,"  said  Mr.  Binney, 
with  his  most  uncompromising  air.  "  I  take  great  ob- 
jection to  your  manner  of  speaking  to  me.  My  son 
I  refuse  to  discuss.  As  far  as  I  mj^self  am  concerned, 
you  have  acknowledged  that  with  one  exception,  for 
which  I  have  paid  the  appointed  penalty,  my  conduct 


112  PETER  BINNEY 

lias  not  been  such  as  to  have  called  for  any  special 
remark,  supposing  1  had  been  of  the  age  of  the  ordinary 
undergraduate  with  whom  you  have  to  deal.  I  take 
my  stand  on  that  statement.  These  references  to  my 
age  are  offensive  to  me.  I  am  here  in  the  position  of 
an  ordinary  undergraduate,  and  I  demand  fair  treat- 
ment as  such.     That  puts  the  matter  in  a  nutshell." 

Mr.  Rimington  kept  his  temper.  "  You  seem  to  for- 
get, Mr.  Binney,"  he  said  quietly,  "  that  no  ordinary 
undergraduate  would  be  permitted  to  speak  to  me  in 
those  terms.  You  take  advantage  of  your  age,  which 
I  think  is  about  the  same  as  mine,  to  address  me  as 
an  equal,  but  wish  it  to  be  ignored  entirely  in  my  esti- 
mation of  your  behaviour.  That,  of  course,  is  an  un- 
reasonable demand,  and  one  that  I  cannot  entertain. 
I  sent  for  you  to  remonstrate  with  you  on  the  course 
that  you  have  seen  fit  to  adopt.  But  as  you  have  taken 
my  remonstrance  so  badly,  I  must  point  out  to  you 
that  my  powers  go  far  beyond  a  mere  remonstrance, 
and  if  you  are  incapable  of  seeing  yourself  in  the  wrong 
and  mending  your  ways,  the  college  will  have  to  think 
very  seriously  of  asking  you  to  take  your  name  off  the 
books." 

"  Then,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  now  very  angry,  "  I 
have  to  inform  you  that  I  shall  not  comply  with  the 
request  of  the  college.  I  am  here,  and  here  I  shall 
remain.  The  treatment  I  have  received  I  consider  in- 
famous.    I  demand  to  be  let  alone.     I  shall  keep  on  the 


THE  NEWNHAM  GIRL  113 

right  side  of  the  law  in  the  future,  as  I  have  done  in 
the  past,  and  I  challenge — I  dare  the  college  to  touch 
me.  Let  me  remind  you,  Mr.  Rimington,  that  this 
University  has  been  thrown  open — yes,  open,  sir.  The 
old  iniquitous  Test  Acts  have  been  done  away.  One 
man  has  as  much  right  here  as  another.  If  I  am  in- 
terfered with  further,  I  will  raise  such  a  storm  through- 
out the  country,  that  not  only  Trinity  College  but 
Cambridge  University  shall  tremble  in  its  shoes.  I 
will  wish  you  good-morning,  sir ;  and  let  me  advise  you 
to  take  my  words  to  heart,"  and  with  this  Mr.  Binney 
took  himself  out  of  his  Tutor's  rooms,  and  went  straight 
round  to  the  Union  to  write  a  fiery  letter  of  indignation 
to  the  Daily  Chronicle,  unmasking  the  unwarrantable 
interference  with  the  liberties  of  the  subject  practised 
by  the  authorities  of  a  "  well-known  college  in  a  well- 
known  University."  His  letter  was  not  inserted.  So 
the  storm  he  had  threatened  to  raise  delaj'ed  its  raging 
for  the  present. 

After  his  departure,  Mr.  Rimington  pondered  for 
some  time  on  his  course  of  action,  and  then  wrote  the 
following  letter : — 

"  Dear  Mr.  Binney, — I  enclose  the  ea:eat  which  you 
will  require  in  order  to  enable  you  to  leave  Cambridge 
for  the  Christmas  vacation.  I  have  dated  it  for  to- 
morrow. You  will,  I  think,  on  consideration  regret 
your  manner  towards  me  in  our  conversation  of  this 


114  PETER  BINNEY 

morning,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  any  expressions 
of  regret  you  may  feel  inclined  to  make.  I  must  also 
repeat  my  statement  that  it  is  subversive  of  all  disci- 
pline in  the  college  that  a  gentleman  in  your  peculiar 
position  should  constitute  himself  a  leader  in  disorderly 
behaviour,  and  warn  you  that  if  such  behaviour  is  per- 
sisted in  you  will  not  be  allowed  to  remain  here. — Yours 

sincerely, 

"  Robert  Rimixgton." 

"  Let  'em  try  to  remove  me,  that's  all,"  said  Mr. 
Binncy,  when  he  received  this  very  moderate  communi- 
cation. "  They'll  be  sorry  for  it  all  their  lives.  Exeat 
dated  for  to-morrow!  What  does  he  mean?  I  don't 
want  to  go  down  to-morrow.  A  piece  of  impertinence! 
I  shan't  go." 

But  on  consideration  Mr.  Binney  did  go  down  on  the 
appointed  day,  and  having  arrived  at  a  more  reason- 
able frame  of  mind  after  a  few  days'  residence  in  Russell 
Square,  wrote  to  Mr.  Rimington  that  he  regretted  that 
he  had  been  led  in  the  heat  of  the  moment  to  express 
himself  in  a  way  he  could  not  justify,  and  that,  while 
he  still  stood  his  stand  on  a  position  which,  he  thought, 
would  prove  to  be  unassailable,  there  was  no  reason  why 
he  and  Mr.  Rimington  should  not  agree  to  differ  in  a 
perfectly  friendly  and  gentlemanly  way. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MR.    BINNEY    GIVES    A    DINNER    AND    RECEIVES    A    REBUFF 

Mr.  Binney  took  advantage  of  his  unexpectedly  early 
arrival  in  town  for  the  Christmas  vacation  to  pay  a 
surprise  visit  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham.  He  found  that 
good  lady  seated  by  her  drawing-room  fire  as  on  the 
occasion  of  that  momentous  visit  with  the  account  of 
which  this  history  opens.  With  the  glad  cry  "  Peter !  " 
**  Martha !  "  these  two  ardent  souls  were  locked  in  a 
close  embrace,  which  afforded  great  gratification  to 
themselves,  and  not  a  little  to  the  parlour-maid,  who 
had  delayed  her  exit  in  order  to  satisfy  herself  as  to 
the  warmth  of  their  greeting. 

"  My  dear  Peter,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  "  I  did 
not  expect  to  see  you  for  another  two  days  at  least. 
How  is  it  you  have  managed  to  come  home  for  your 
holidays  so  early?" 

"  We  don't  have  holidays  at  Cambridge,  Martha," 
said  Mr.  Binney :  "  we  call  them  vacations.  And  of 
course  we  can  come  away  when  we  like — that  is  if  the 
dons  will  let  us." 

"  Well,  it  is  a  very  agreeable  surprise  to  see  you, 

Peter,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham.     "  But  how  you  have 

altered !     Why,    you    have    cut     off    your    beautiful 

whiskers ! " 

115 


116  PETER  BINNEY 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Binncy.  "  Fellows  don't  wear  whis- 
kers at  Cambridge.  It  is  considered  old-fashioned. 
How  do  you  like  the  change,  Martha?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  doubt- 
fully. "  But  you  should  have  asked  my  leave  first,  j'ou 
know,  Peter,  before  taking  a  step  like  that,"  she  added, 
archly. 

Mr.  Binney  enjoyed  this.  He  became  facetious,  af- 
fected to  dig  Mrs.  Higginbotham  in  the  ribs,  and  jocu- 
larly cried,  "Oh!  you  saucy  little  skipper!" 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  was  scandalised. 

"  Peter !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  surely  you  forget  your- 
self." 

"  Pooh !  Martha,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  don't  be  old- 
fashioned.  That's  the  way  young  men  go  on  now-a- 
days." 

"  Is  it.'*  "  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  only  half  reas- 
sured. "  I  don't  think  I  much  like  it.  It  isn't  respect- 
ful. But  I'm  so  pleased  to  see  you  back,  Peter,  that 
I  don't  mind  hoiic  you  go  on.  And  you  certainly  do 
look  younger,  somehow — I  suppose  it  is  from  cutting 
off  your  whiskers.  But  do  you  know  I  think  it  makes 
you  look  smaller  too." 

"  Ah !  "  said  Peter,  "  I  used  to  be  sorry  I  was  rather 
short.  I'm  not  now.  It's  a  distinct  score.  I've  got  a 
great  piece  of  news  for  you,  Martha.  I'm  going  to 
steer  the  first  Lent  boat  next  term,  if  all  goes  well. 
The  first  boat  captain  told  me  the  other  day  that  I 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         117 

was  the  most  useful  man  they'd  got,  if  I  didn't  play 
the  fool  and  kept  my  head ;  he  said  if  I  steered  well 
in  the  Lents  I  should  probably  steer  the  first  boat  in 
the  Mays ;  and  that  means,  Martha,  that  next  year  I 
shall  very  likely  be  cox  of  the  'Varsity  and  get  my  Blue* 
Think  of  that,  now !  " 

"  Lor ! "  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  "  And  very  nice 
too,  I'm  sure.  But  why  are  you  wearing  a  tie  with 
the  Oxford  colours  instead  of  the  Cambridge  ?  " 

"  Oh  dear !  Martha !  "  exclaimed  Peter  with  some  irri- 
tation. "  Will  you  never  understand  these  things  ? 
These  are  the  First  Trinity  colours.  Nobody  can  wear 
the  Cambridge  colours  unless  he's  a  Blue.  And  I'm 
not  a  Blue  yet." 

"Aren't  you?"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham.  "Well, 
never  mind,  I'm  sure  you  will  be  some  day  if  you  do 
your  lessons — I  mean  your  work  well,  and  satisfy  the 
Professors.  And  now,  Peter,  there  is  one  little  thing 
that  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  about.  That  time  you  got 
into  trouble.  I  was  very  grieved  to  hear  about  that. 
My  poor  dear  father  always  used  to  say " 

"  Oh,  bother  your  father,  Martha  !  "  exclaimed  Peter. 
"  What  did  he  know  about  life  at  the  'Varsity  ?  I  told 
you  in  my  letter  that  nobody  at  Cambridge  thinks  any- 
thing of  a  lark  like  that  except  the  fusty  old  dons — and 
who  cares  for  what  they  think?  " 

"  It  isn't  polite  of  you  to  say,  '  bother  my  father,' 
Peter,"  rejoined  Mrs.  Higginbotham  with  some  warmth. 


118  PETER  BINNEY 

"  He  was  a  very  good  father  to  me,  and  I  never  gave 
him  a  moment's  trouble  till  the  day  of  his  death.  I 
did  think  that  after  the  lesson  you  had  received — being 
locked  into  your  bedroom  every  night  at  eight  o'clock 
as  I  gathered  from  your  letter — that  you  would  have 
seen  the  folly  of  such  behaviour.  But  I  am  sorry  to 
see  from  this  paper  which  you  sent  me  the  other  day, 
that  this  is  not  the  case." 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  took  up  from  the  table  at  her 
side  one  of  those  ephemeral  journals  which  come  and 
go  at  the  Universities  with  almost  as  much  frequency 
as  the  successive  generations  of  undergraduates  who 
produce  them.  This  one  was  called  The  New  Court 
Chronicle,  and  had  been  started  by  one  of  Mr.  Binney's 
Rugby  football  acquaintances.  In  it  was  a  weekly  let- 
ter in  imitation  of  those  that  appear  in  some  of  the 
London  Society  papers,  and  one  paragraph  ran  as 
follows: — 

"  Millie  has  come  up  here  for  a  week  to  see  some- 
thing of  her  younger  brother,  Arthur,  who  has  entered 
at  Trinity,  and  is  quite  a  persona  grata  with  the 
*  smart '  set  at  that  most  chic  of  all  the  colleges.  He 
took  his  brother-in-law  to  a  dinner  at  Mr.  '  Peter '  Bin- 
ney's rooms  one  night,  and  Sir  George  came  away  quite 
charmed  with  the  verve  and  elan  of  his  diminutive  host. 
Sir  George  says  that  there  was  not  so  much  wine  drunk 
as  in  his  days  at  Cambridge,  but  what  there  was,  was 
of  excellent  quality  and  seemed  to  go  further.     Little 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         119 

Mr.  Binney  insisted  on  making  a  speech,  and  caused 
uproarious  merriment  by  remarking  that  he  saw  double 
the  number  of  friends  he  had  invited,  but  he  was  pleased 
to  welcome  them  all,  and  as  many  more  of  the  same 
sort  as  liked  to  come.  Owing  to  the  sultriness  of  the 
weather,  Mr.  Binney  was  unfortunately  seized  with  a 
slight  indisposition  before  the  party  broke  up,  but  he 
was  comfortably  settled  in  bed  by  his  guests  before  they 
left,  and  Millie  met  him  in  Jesus  Lane  the  next  morning 
looking  as  sprightly  as  ever,  and  had  a  short  conversa- 
tion with  him,  in  which  he  humorously  reniarked  that 
he  had  never  turned  his  back  upon  don  or  devil 
yet." 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  opened  the  paper  and  pointed  to 
this  paragraph. 

"  It  was  indeed  a  grief  to  me  to  read  that,  Peter," 
she  said,  "  and  how  you  could  send  it  me  of  your  own 
accord  passes  my  comprehension.  Inattention  to  study 
I  can  overlook,  and  thoughtless  levity  of  conduct  I  can 
pardon — but  drunkenness !  Oh,  Peter,  I  never  thought 
it  would  come  to  that.** 

Mr.  Binney  had  been  getting  very  red  during  the 
passing  of  this  exordium  on  his  conduct. 

"Pooh,  Martha!"  he  burst  out  at  last.  "How 
could  I  have  known  that  you  would  take  it  seriously. 
You  don't  think  all  that  rubbish  is  true,  do  you?  It  is 
all  made  up  and  put  in  for  a  lark.  I  sent  it  to  you 
because — well,  because  I  thought  it  would  please  you  to 


120  PETER  BINNEY 

see  how  popular  and  well-known  I  have  become  in  Cam- 
bridge.    If  you  don't  like  it,  throw  it  in  the  fire." 

"  But  if  it  is  not  true,  Peter,"  said  Mrs.  Higgin- 
bothain — "  and  I'm  sure  I'm  very  much  relieved  to  hear 
that  it  is  not — why  do  you  allow  such  things  to  be  put 
into  a  paper.''  It  distinctly  says  you  *  saw  double,' 
and  I  have  always  understood  that  to  be  an  unfailing 
sign  of — of  tipsiness.  1  call  it  disgraceful  taking  away 
a  gentleman's  character  like  that.  Supposing  it  should 
come  round  to  Dr.  Toller's  cars,  or  some  others  of  the 
congregation.'*  And  you  a  deacon,  too,  and  so  much 
looked  up  to." 

"  Dr.  Toller !  "  echoed  Mr.  Binney  with  much  scorn. 
"What  do  I  care  for  Dr.  Toller?  He's  not  a  'Varsity 
man;  he  doesn't  understand  these  things." 

"  He  has  got  a  University  degree,"  said  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham.  "  Indeed,  two  degrees.  He  is  always  put 
in  the  bills  as  Rev.  Samuel  Toller,  B.A.,  D.D." 

"  That's  nothing,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  He  wasn't 
at  Oxford  or  Cambridge.     The  rest  don't  count.'* 

"  Oh,  don't  they !  I  didn't  know,"  said  Mrs.  Hlggin- 
botham.  "  But,  at  any  rate,  I  shouldn't  allow  those 
things  to  be  said  of  you,  Peter,  especially  as  they  are 
not  true.  It  might  get  about,  and  I  shouldn't  like 
that.  Now,  tell  me  about  some  of  your  speeches  at  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  I  am  so  glad 
you " 

"  The  Union,  Martha  !     The  Union  !  "  shouted  Mr. 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         121 

Binney,  annoyed  beyond  bounds  at  Mrs.  Higgin- 
botham's  consistent  inability  to  grasp  the  true  inward- 
ness of  University  life. 

"  Well,  the  Union  then,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham. 
"It's  the  same  thing,  isn't  it.?" 

"  No,  it's  not  the  same  thing,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  and 
then  he  calmed  down  and  gave  Mrs.  Higginbotham  a 
full  and  true  account  of  the  building  up  of  his  forensic 
ambitions,  and  their  sad  and  disastrous  downfall.  Mrs. 
Higginbotham  was  full  of  sympathy  and  womanly  con- 
solation. 

"  Ah,  Martha,"  said  Mr.  Binney  at  last,  "  what  a 
treasure  I  ha.ve  gained  in  your  love !  My  barque  will 
never  suffer  shipwreck  so  long  as  the  haven  of  your 
true  woman's  breast  is  open  to  it." 

"  I  trust  not,"  said  Mrs.  Higginbotham.  "  And  now 
let  us  have  tea  up.  I  expect  Annie  will  have  toasted 
some  muffins." 

Lucius  arrived  home  the  next  afternoon,  and  brought 
Dizzy  with  him  for  a  few  days.  The  point  of  view  from 
which  he  had  hitherto  regarded  his  father  had  been 
so  rudely  altered  by  Mr.  Binney's  behaviour  during 
his  first  term  at  Cambridge  that  Lucius  had  been  unable 
to  face  the  ordeal  of  the  first  few  days  alone  with  him 
in  Russell  Square. 

"  You  know  what  the  governor  is,  Dizzy,"  he  had 
said.  "  It  won't  be  so  bad  if  you  are  here  for  a  bit,, 
and  we  can  have  a  good  time.     I've  got  some  money 


122  PETEU  BINNEY 

left,  although  my  allowance  has  been  getting  smaller 
and  smaller  ever  since  I  came  up  to  Cambridge.  We 
needn't  be  at  home  more  than  we  like,  and  we  can  go 
about  a  bit  and  see  plays." 

"  I  should  like  to  come,  old  man,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I've 
got  a  bit  of  .s])losh  laid  by,  too.  I'm  an  economical 
beggar  and  I've  let  my  bills  stand  over  till  next  term. 
We'll  have  a  rare  old  time.  I  suppose  your  governor 
won't  want  to  go  about  with  us,  will  he?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  be  surprised,"  said  Lucius.  "  You  can 
never  tell  what  nonsense  he'll  be  up  to  now," 

"  Oh,  well,  we  must  make  the  best  of  it,  if  he  does," 
said  Dizzy  cheerfully.  "  He's  not  such  bad  fun  if  you 
take  him  in  the  right  way,  and  I  can  always  get  on 
with  him  very  avcII." 

"  He's  not  your  father,"  said  Lucius. 

Dizzy  considerately  gave  thanks  inaudibly. 

But  when  they  reached  Russell  Square  they  found 
that  a  change  for  the  better  had  set  in  in  Mr.  Binncy's 
behaviour.  The  responsibilities  of  a  householder  and 
the  head  of  a  large  business-house  had  temporarily  set- 
tled down  on  him  again.  He  went  to  the  City  every 
day  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  spent  a  good  deal  of  his 
spare  time  in  the  company  of  Mrs.  HIgginbotham, 
leaving  the  young  men  pretty  well  to  their  own  devices. 
He  had  been  brought  up  to  regard  tlieatre  going  as 
injurious  to  the  morals,  and,  while  he  did  not  attempt 
to  prevent  Lucius  from  enjoying  himself  in  his   own 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         123 

way,  the  remains  of  an  early  prejudice  prevented  his 
accompanying  him.  So  Dizzy  spent  a  pleasant  week 
with  his  friend,  and  as  he  was  always  cheery  and  oblig- 
ing from  morning  to  night,  Mr.  Binney  was  delighted 
with  his  company. 

One  evening  towards  the  end  of  Dizzy's  visit  there 
was  a  little  dinner-party  in  Russell  Square.  The 
guests  were  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  Dr.  Toller,  his  wife 
and  daughter,  and  a  sprightly  middle-aged  lady  called 
Miss  Tupper,  who  had  been  a  friend  of  the  late  Mrs. 
Binney,  whose  place  she  was  generally  supposed  to  be 
desirous  of  filling.  Mrs.  Higginbotham  and  she  were 
very  cordial  to  one  another  when  they  met,  but  there- 
was  a  delicate  sub-acid  flavour  about  their  conversation, 
which  hardly  seemed  in  accord  with  the  indelible  sweet- 
ness of  their  respective  smiles.  ! 

Mr.  Binney  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table  with  Mrs.. 
Toller  on  his  right,  and  Mrs.  Higginbotham  on  his 
left,  Lucius  at  the  foot,  flanked  by  Miss  Tupper  and 
Miss  Toller.  The  Reverend  Doctor  and  Dizzy  faced 
one  another. 

"  And  how  do  you  like  University  life,  Mr.  Binney?  " 
inquired  Mrs.  Toller  sweetly,  when  her  husband  had 
recited  an  impromptu  grace,  and  infused  as  much  origi- 
nality into  it  as  possible,  and  the  company  had  set- 
tled themselves  down  to  soup  and  agreeable  conversa- 
tion. 

Mr.   Binney,  of  course,  was   anxious  to  talk  about 


1«4  PETER  BINNEY 

Cambridge,  but  he  did  not  quite  like  a  question  which 
drew  attention  to  his  novice  state. 

"  Oh,  all  University  men  like  University  life,  Mrs. 
Toller,"  he  replied.  "  Though,  of  course,  some  are  not 
in  a  position  to  appreciate  it  as  much  as  others." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Binnc}',  I'm  sure  you  are  in  a  position  to 
appreciate  it,"  said  Miss  Tupper  gushingly. 

"  I  hope  I  am,  Miss  Tupper,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 

"Who  arc  the  people  who  do  not  appreciate  it.''" 
asked  Mrs.  Toller. 

This  gave  Mr.  Binney  the  opportunity  he  wanted 
of  expatiating  on  the  prestige  to  be  gained  by  member- 
ship of  a  good  college,  and  a  wide  circle  of  distinguished 
athletic  acquaintances.  Mrs.  Toller  seemed  much  in- 
terested and  put  many  questions  in  a  tone  of  innocent 
inquiry,  which  had  the  effect  of  drawing  Mr.  Binney 
into  a  somewhat  fuller  account  than  he  would  otherwise 
have  given  of  his  manner  of  life  during  the  past  term. 
Miss  Tupper  was  enchanted  with  everything  she  heard. 
She  even  clapped  her  hands. 

"  Oh,  do  tell  me  more,  Mr.  Binney,"  she  cried.  "  It 
is  all  so  young.  I  simply  love  to  hear  about  it.  Lucius, 
why  don't  you  back  Mr.  Binney  up?  I  believe  you 
are  a  very  wicked  boy  when  you're  at  college,  for  all 
you  are  so  quiet  at  home.     Oh,  fie !  " 

Lucius  made  no  reply  to  this  sally.  The  old  feeling 
towards  his  father  which  had  been  coming  back  slowly 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         U5 

during  the  last  few  days  was  disappearing  again  as  the 
conversation  developed,  and  he  ate  his  dinner  in  shamed 
silence.  Miss  Tupper  became  more  and  more  sprightly, 
but  she  devoted  herself  to  Mr.  Binney  although  she 
was  two  places  away  from  him.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  a  solicitor,  while  Mrs.  Toller's  father  had  been  a 
bookseller,  and  she  wished  to  show  that  lady  that  the 
manners  of  the  upper  classes  possess  a  greater  breadth 
and  freedom  than  those  of  the  people  with  whom  Mrs. 
Toller  had  mixed  all  her  life.  Mrs.  Higginbotham  was 
very  anxious  that  Mr.  Binney  should  not  give  Dr. 
Toller  reason  to  suppose  that  his  habits  had  become 
at  all  loose  during  his  short  residence  at  Cambridge, 
and  tried  to  bring  the  conversation  down  to  the  more 
sober  aspects  of  University  life,  but  the  Doctor  was 
enjoying  a  very  good  dinner  and  was  inclined  to  be 
tolerant.  He  even  told  some  anecdotes  of  his  own 
salad  days  when  he  had  been  a  student  at  Homerton 
College,  but  the  mild  devilry  of  his  proceedings  took 
such  a  long  time  to  narrate,  and  amounted  to  so  very 
little  when  it  was  reduced  to  speech,  that  his  anecdote* 
fell  very  flat.  Mrs.  Higginbotham  gave  them  rather 
more  than  their  due  share  of  appreciation,  but  Mr. 
Binney  listened  with  ill-concealed  impatience,  and  in- 
stantly capped  each  story  with  a  much  more  highly- 
spiced  one  of  his  own,  while  Miss  Tupper  actually  had 
the  temerity  to  snub  the  great  man,  which  exasperated 


1^  PETER  BINNEY 

his  wife  to  such  an  extent  that  she  half  made  up  her 
mind  to  bring  her  unseemly  conduct  before  the  next 
church  meeting. 

Under  cover  of  this  conversation  Dizzy  had  been 
trying  to  get  on  terms  with  his  neighbour.  Miss  Toller 
was  very  young  and  very  shy,  but  undoubtedly  pretty. 
Dizzy,  that  discriminating  critic  of  feminine  beauty, 
had  run  his  eye  cursorily  over  her  upon  his  first  ap- 
pearance. "  Pity  she  ain't  turned  out  properly,"  he 
had  said  to  Lucius.  "  She's  worth  it.  I  should  like  to 
get  her  a  proper  evening  frock  instead  of  that  dowdy 
thing,  and  take  her  somewhere  to  get  her  hair  waved. 
I  could  turn  her  into  a  regular  topper  in  no  time.  Give 
her  a  few  lessons  on  how  to  walk,  and  teach  her  to  hold 
her  hands  properly  and  you  wouldn't  know  her  when 
I'd  finished  with  her." 

"Shouldn't  want  to;  you'd  only  spoil  her,"  said 
Lucius.  "  She's  a  nice  enough  little  tiling  as  it  is. 
I've  danced  with  her  at  children's  parties  ever  since  I 
can  remember." 

"  Come  now,"  said  Dizzy,  "  you  wouldn't  like  to 
see  the  Newnham  beauty  turned  out  like  that  of  an 
evening." 

"  That's  different,"  said  Lucius,  with  a  blush. 

Poor  little  Miss  Toller  would  have  sunk  into  the 
earth  with  shame  if  she  had  heard  herself  thus  dis- 
cussed. This  was  her  first  dinner-party  and  she  had 
looked   forward   to   it   with   tremulous   but   pleasurable 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         12T 

anticipation.  She  was  going  to  meet  Lucius,  and 
Lucius  had  always  stood  for  her  as  an  embodiment  of 
everything  that  was  worthy  of  admiration  in  the  op- 
posite sex.  She  had  recently  been  put  in  command  of 
her  own  small  dress  allowance,  and  had  expended  a 
good  part  of  her  quarter's  income  on  the  frock  that 
Dizzy  had  criticised  so  contemptuously.  Lucius  had 
not  taken  so  much  notice  of  her  as  she  had  expected, 
considering  that  they  had  been  friends  all  their  lives; 
and  he  seemed  unhappy !  Poor  boy !  With  feminine 
intuition  she  instantly  divined  something  of  the  state 
of  things  that  existed  between  him  and  his  father. 
Hitherto  she  had  regarded  Mr.  Binney  with  that  re- 
spect due  to  his  age  and  his  standing  in  her  father's 
congregation.  Suddenly  she  found  herself  hating  and 
despising  him  with  a  fervour  that  surprised  even  her- 
self, and  she  would  have  given  anj'thing  she  possessed, 
even  her  new  frock,  to  be  able  to  console  Lucius  with- 
out appearing  to  understand  why  he  was  so  downcast. 
Lucius  spoke  very  little  to  her,  although  she  sat  next 
to  him,  and  she  was  too  shy  to  address  him  first ;  but 
now  she  had  to  collect  her  wits  and  cope  with  the  em- 
barrassing young  man  who  sat  on  her  left,  who  seemed 
more  at  ease  than  she  could  possibly  have  conceived 
any  young  man  being  in  the  awe-inspiring  surround- 
ings of  a  set  dinner-party,  and  who  spoke  and  behaved 
in  quite  a  different  manner  from  anybody  she  had  ever 
met  before. 


1^8  PETER  BINNEY 


(( 


Oysters !  "  begun  Dizzy,  as  an  opening  to  conversa- 
tion. "  I  don't  know  whether  you  know  that  if  you  eat 
a  dozen  oysters  and  drink  a  wine-glassful  of  brandy 
after  them,  30U  die." 

Miss  Toller  had  never  eaten  oysters  in  her  life,  nor 
drunk  brandy  except  under  strong  maternal  pressure 
for  medicinal  purposes,  but  she  looked  rather  fright- 
ened.    "  Do  you?  "  she  said. 

"  Yes,"  said  Dizzy,  "  the  brandy  turns  the  oysters 
into  leather.  Leather's  the  most  indigestible  thing  you 
can  swallow,  although  of  course  nobody  would  swallow 
it  if  they  could  help  it.  But  the  funny  part  of  it  is, 
that  if  you  eat  a  piece  of  cheese  the  size  of  a  walnut — I 
don't  know  why  walnut  particularly — it  melts  the 
leather  and  then  you  are  all  right." 

Miss  Toller  thought  this  information  a  trifle  indeli- 
cate, but  made  no  comment  on  it,  except  the  tacit  one 
of  leaving  her  oysters  untasted. 

"Been  to  any  plays  lately.?"  inquired  Dizzy. 

"  No,"  said  Miss  Toller,  "  my  father  doesn't  approve 
of  theatres." 

"  Doesn't  he?  "  said  Dizzy.  "  Quite  right  too.  I'm 
sure  the  nonsense  that's  put  on  the  stage  now  and 
called  a  play  is  enough  to  make  you  ill.  And  then 
they  talk  about  dramatic  art!  Why,  there's  more  art 
in  a  Punch  and  Judy  show.  Lucius  and  I  have  been 
going  the  rounds  for  the  last  week,  and  I'm  hanged  if 
I   want  to   go  and   see  another  play    till    Fin   seventy. 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         129 

X.ouie  Freer's  the  only  artist  among  the  whole  lot  of 
'em.  Ever  heard  her  sing  'Mary  Jane's  Top  Note'? 
Oh,  no,  I  forgot.  You  don't  care  for  theatres.  But 
you  should  have  seen  Lucius  at  the  A.D.C.  He  was 
only  a  maid-servant — but  such  a  maid-servant.  He  had 
letters  from  all  the  Registry  Offices  in  Cambridge  offer- 
ing him  situations.  Every  Sunday  out  and  as  many 
followers  as  he  liked.     Didn't  you,  Lucius?" 

"  He's  talking  nonsense,  Nesta,"  said  Lucius.  "  He 
always  will  talk  whether  he's  got  anything  to  say  or 
not." 

"  But  did  you  dress  up  as  a  maid-servant,  Lucius?  " 
asked  the  girl. 

"  He  did,"  said  Dizzy,  "  and  his  waist  was  twenty- 
two  inches  round.  His  name  was  Mary."  But  here 
Mr.  Stubbs's  attention  was  demanded  by  his  other 
neighbour,  Mrs.  Toller,  who  had  learnt  enough  of  Mr. 
Binney's  late  doings  to  satisfy  her  for  the  present,  and 
had  caught  a  few  scraps  of  the  conversation  addressed 
to  her  daughter,  and  thought  it  a  trifle  free. 

"  And  what  may  you  be  going  to  do,  Mr.  Stubbs, 
when  you  leave  college?  "  she  asked  with  a  slight  touch 
of  asperity. 

"  Well,  'pon  my  word,  I  don't  know,"  replied  Dizzy, 
who  may  have  been  a  little  surprised  at  the  directness 
of  the  inquiry,  but  didn't  show  it.  "  I  leave  all  that 
sort  of  thing  to  my  old  father,  you  know.  He's  got 
plenty   of  ideas    on    the    subject,   but   he   changes   'em 


130  PETER  BINNEY 

about  once  a  month.  I  fall  in  with  'em  all  and  give 
'em  up  directly  the  new  one  comes  along.  It  keeps  him 
out  of  mischief,  having  something  to  think  about,  and 
it  don't  hurt  me.  I  think  it's  the  Church  just  at 
present — or  is  it  brewing?  No,  brewing  was  last  term. 
My  old  father  read  in  the  papers  that  the  country 
spends  more  money  on  its  drink  bills  than  on  anything 
else,  so  he  thought  that  if  I  was  put  in  a  position  to 
enable  me  to  receipt  a  few  of  'em,  it  wouldn't  be  a  bad 
thing.  However,  he  gave  up  the  idea  for  some  reason 
or  other,  and  now  we're  turning  our  attention  to  the 
Church." 

"  And  do  you  feel  that  you  have  any  vocation  for 
the  ministry?"  asked  Mrs.  Toller. 

"  Oh  !  I  shall  rub  along  all  right,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I've 
an  old  uncle  who's  got  several  livings  in  his  gift.  He'll 
give  me  one  if  I  want  it,  I  dare  say.  There's  one  up 
in  Lincolnshire, — not  much  money,  but  a  nice  house, 
and  five  hundred  acres  of  rough  shooting — you  don't 
often  get  that  sort  of  thing  with  a  rectory  nowadays — 
and  only  about  fifty  people  in  the  parish.  I  shouldn't 
mind  going  there,  and  I  dare  say  I  could  if  I  wanted 
to.  My  old  uncle's  place  is  in  the  next  parish,  and  I 
could  have  a  very  good  time." 

Mrs.  Toller  listened  with  inward  disapproval,  but 
the  mention  of  Dizzy's  uncle  with  his  patronage  and 
his  "  place  "  disarmed  her  rancour,  she  being  as  arrant 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         131 

a  snob  as  ever  walked,  and  she  said  with  much  sweet- 
ness: 

"  Don't  you  think,  Mr.  Stubbs,  that  the  system  of 
patronage  adopted  by  the  Established  Church  is  a 
little — what  shall  I  say? — a  little — " 

"  I  do"  said  Dizzy  with  warmth.  "  I  quite  agree 
with  you.  I  think  it's  perfectly  monstrous.  Now, 
look  at  my  old  uncle — well,  perhaps  I  oughtn't  to  let 
out  family  secrets — but  I  assure  you  that  for  that  old 
man  to  be  able  to  present  people  to  livings — though, 
mind  you,  he's  a  very  nice  old  man,  and  I've  nothing 
to  say  against  him — well,  upon  my  word,  it's  enough 
to  make  you  turn  Particular  Baptist  or  something — 
never  quite  know  why  Baptists  should  be  more  particu- 
lar than  anybody  else — oh,  I  heg  your  pardon,  Mrs. 
Toller — 'pon  my  word  I  forgot  we  weren't  of  the  same 
way  of  thinking — clumsy  beggar,  always  putting  my 
foot  in  it — but  you're  not  what  they  call  a  Particular 
Baptist,  are  you?  " 

"  Certainly  not,"  said  Mrs.  Toller.  "  The  Particu- 
lar Baptists  were " 

"  Quite  so.  Yes,  I  remember.  And  I  know,  of 
course,  that  Dr.  Toller  is  a  most  distinguished  leader 
of  rehgious  thought — everybody  knows  that.  I  ought 
to  have  remembered  that  he  didn't  happen  to  belong  to 
the  same  Church  as  I  do — stupid  of  me.  But,  you 
know,  the  truth  of  it  is,  Mrs.  Toller,  that  when  a  man 


132  PETER  BINNEY 

gets  up  to  the  top  of  the  tree,  well,  he  may  be  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  or  a  Cardinal  or — or  a  man  like 
your  husband,  and  to  a  fellow  like  me  who  don't  follow 
these  things  very  closely,  well,  there  isn't  much  differ- 
ence, don't  you  know." 

"You  feel  that,  do  you?"  said  Mrs.  Toller,  much 
gratified.  "  Of  course  we  think  so ;  but  church  people 
are  usually  so  bigoted.  I'm  sure  it's  a  great  pleasure 
to  meet  a  member  of  the  Establishment  who  is  so  broad- 
minded." 

Dizzy  felt  that  he  had  completely  retrieved  his  error, 
and  proceeded  to  amplify  his  ideas. 

"  I  think  it's  such  rot  being  narrow-minded,  don't 
you  know,"  he  said.  "  Look  at  the  Buddhists.  They're 
just  as  good  as  we  are.  I  knew  a  fellow  once  who 
became  one.  He  was  fond  of  a  good  glass  of  wine. 
He  had  to  knock  that  off,  and  become  a  teetotaller.  He 
liked  shooting,  but  he  had  to  give  it  up,  because  he  said 
he  couldn't  take  life — he  never  had  taken  much  before, 
but  he  used  to  hit  'em  sometimes  by  mistake,  and  he 
didn't  want  to  run  any  risks.  Of  course,  he  didn't  cat 
meat.  Then  he  hadn't  been  married  very  long,  and 
there  was  a  baby  he  was  very  fond  of.  He  began  to 
bring  that  up  as  a  Buddhist  too,  and  fed  it  on  apples 
and  filbert  nuts.  Don't  know  what  his  wife  was  doing 
all  the  time,  but  it  died  in  a  month.  He  didn't  care. 
He  just  went  on.  Now,  that's  what  I  cull  religion,  you 
know,  and   I  should   admire  that   follow  just  as  much 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         133 

if  he  were  a  Mormon  or  whatever  he  was.     Wouldn't 
you  ?  " 

Mrs.  Toller  was  not  prepared  to  go  quite  so  far 
as  that,  but  she  went  part  of  the  way,  and  went  very 
amiably. 

"  I  suppose  you  have  never  heard  my  husband  preach, 
have  you,  Mr.  Stubbs?  "  she  asked. 

"  No,  I  haven't,"  said  Dizzy.  "  And  it's  a  funny 
thing,  because  I've  been  in  London  a  good  deal.  It's 
the  people  who  come  up  from  the  country  who  see  and 
hear  everything  that's  going  on.  Now,  you  wouldn't 
credit  it,  but  I've  actually  never  been  to  the  Zoo." 

Mrs.  Toller  did  not  quite  see  the  connection  of  ideas, 
but  her  amiability  did  not  decrease. 

"  He  preached  a  very  fine  sermon  last  Sunday,"  she 
said,  *'  on  '  The  Municipal  Duties  of  an  Enlightened 
Electorate.'  The  papers  were  full  of  it.  The  Daily 
Chronicle  said  it  was  '  an  epoch-making  sermon.'  " 

"  I  can  quite  believe  that,"  said  Dizzy.  "  If  a  man 
talks  sense  in  the  pulpit  people  will  listen  to  him.  If 
he  talks  nonsense  they  won't." 

"  That  is  so  true,"  said  Mrs.  Toller,  and  felt  quite 
sorry  when  the  time  came  for  the  ladies  to  leave  the 
table,  for  Dizzy  had  by  this  time  completely  wiped  out 
the  memory  of  his  little  slip. 

Driving  home  after  the  entertainment  was  over  Mrs. 
Toller  laid  down  the  law. 

Mr.  Binney  seems  to  have  been  behaving  very  fool- 


« 


134  PETER  BINNEY 

islily  at  Cambridge,"  she  said.  "  I  frathercd  somctlilng 
of  the  sort  from  Mrs.  Higginbothani,  and  wished  +o 
find  out  if  it  was  true.  I  could  see  tliat  she  was 
ashamed  of  tlie  nonsense  he  talked  at  dinner,  and  I  felt 
for  her,  poor  thinf^.  I  shall  go  and  see  her  to-morrow 
and  tell  her  so.  The  way  Miss  Tupper  egged  him  on 
was  disgraceful.  She  ought  to  be  asliamed  of  herself, 
at  her  age,  too.  If  I  were  you,  I  should  allude  to  it 
in  your  prayer  on  Sunday,  Samuel.  It  will  not  seem 
so  pointed  as  if  you  were  to  do  it  in  the  sermon,  and 
there  is  never  any  telling  what  Miss  Tupper  may  do. 
She  might  leave  the  chapel  altogether  if  she  is  offended, 
and  if  she  once  took  to  going  to  church  she'd  give  her- 
self such  airs  that  there'd  be  no  holding  her." 

"  I  think  Mr.  Binney  is  a  very  silly  little  man,"  said 
Miss  Toller  vindictively.  "  I  believe  he  is  making  poor 
Lucius  miserable." 

"  Nesta !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Toller,  astonished  at  this 
outburst  from  her  usually  submissive  daughter,  "  I  can- 
not allow  you  to  speak  like  that  of  your  elders.  Mr. 
Binney  is  one  of  your  father's  greatest  supporters. 
Pray  express  yourself  with  more  respect.  And  as  for 
Lucius — I've  no  patience  with  him.  I've  gone  out  of 
my  way  to  be  kind  to  that  boy,  and  he  shows  no  more 
gratitude  than  if  I  was  a  mere  nobody — hardly  troubled 
himself  to  answer  when  I  asked  him  how  he  was  getting 
on  with  his  studies,  and  actually  turned  his  back  upon 
me  when  I  began  to  give  him  a  little  advice  about  the 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         135 

temptations  of  University  life.  Now  if  he  were  like 
that  nice  young  Mr.  Stubbs  it  would  be  different. 
Stubbs  is  not  a  genteel  name,  but  I  believe  he  is  very 
well  connected,  and  he  certainly  has  a  well-bred  manner 
of  speaking.  Samuel,  I  have  asked  him  to  come  with 
us  and  hear  you  preach  on  Sunday  evening.  He  said 
nothing  would  please  him  better.  He  has  never  been 
in  a  Nonconformist  place  of  worship,  and  he  will  cer- 
tainly come  if  he  is  still  in  town.  I  should  be  careful 
what  I  said  about  the  Establishment  if  I  were  you.  I 
should  like  him  to  carry  away  a  good  impression  of 
your  preaching." 

"  I'll  be  sure  and  remember  it,  my  dear,"  said  Dr. 
Toller  drowsily  from  his  corner  of  the  carriage. 
"  Nesta,  dear,  write  a  note  for  me  when  we  get  home — 
'  Mr.  Stubbs — no  rubs.'  Then  I  shan't  disgrace  my- 
self." The  Reverend  Dr.  Toller  cultivated  his  small 
gift  of  humour;  he  found  it  necessary  in  order  to  live 
comfortably  with  his  wife. 

Dizzy  took  his  departure  the  next  morning,  but  not 
before  a  very  painful  scene  had  occurred  in  Russell 
Square.  The  Times  which  graced  Mr.  Binney's  break- 
fast table,  and  was  now  eagerly  searched  each  morning 
for  news  of  the  Little-go  examination,  at  last  published 
the  list.     Mr.  Binney's  name  was  not  in  it. 

Dizzy  came  down  to  find  a  dejected  figure  sitting 
at  the  head  of  the  table,  while  the  disregarded  urn 
which  had  filled  the  teapot  and  flooded  the  tea-tray  was 


136  rETER  131NNEY 

beginning  to  flow  over  the  surrounding  tract  of  table- 
cloth. As  he  entered  the  room  Mr.  Binney  bounded 
from  his  seat  witii  a  yell  of  pain,  and  turned  off  the 
tap.  The  physical  anguish  of  the  moment  diverted  his 
mind  from  the  mental  shock  he  had  undergone,  but  the 
numbing  realisation  of  failure  soon  settled  on  him 
again.  "  Stubbs !  "  he  said  mournfully,  "  it  is  all  over. 
I  shall  never  hold  up  my  head  again." 

*'  Lor,  Mr.  Binney  !  "  exclaimed  Dizzy.  "  It  can't 
be  so  bad  as  that,  is  it?  Shall  I  ring  for  a  servant  to 
bring  a  cloth  and  mop  it  up?  " 

"  It  isn't  that,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  with  the  calm  bom 
of  despair.  "  I  have  failed  to  pass  the  Previous  exam- 
ination.     I  am  a  disgraced  man." 

"Oh,  that's  all,  is  it?"  said  Dizzy,  helping  himself 
to  devilled  kidneys  off  the  side  table.  "  I  thought 
you'd  scalded  yourself.  Why,  bless  my  soul,  I  knew  a 
fellow  who  had  eight  shots  at  the  Little-go  and  didn't 
pass  it  then.  I  had  three  goes  myself,  and  here  I  am 
as  merry  as  a  cricket." 

"  Ah,  you  are  young !  "  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  You've 
got  your  life  before  you.      I  shall  never  get  over  it." 

Nevertheless  he  did  get  over  it,  and  the  failure  did 
him  good.  He  went  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham  and  con- 
fessed all.  He  saw  now,  he  said,  that  he  had  wasted 
his  time  and  opportunities.  He  had  consorted  with 
idle  and  graceless  companions,  and  made  himself  a 
reproach    to   the   authorities   of   the   college.     He   had 


MR.  BINNEY  GIVES  A  DINNER         137 

brought  this   appalling  result   on  himself,   and  he  de- 
served it. 

Mrs.  Higginbotham  gave  the  repentant  prodigal  full 
absolution.  She  advised  him  to  write  to  Mr.  Riming- 
ton,  and  promise  full  amendment  of  his  ways.  Mr. 
Binney  did  not  take  her  advice  in  this  particular,  but 
he  did  summon  to  his  aid  the  learned  Minshull,  and 
set  himself  steadily  to  read  for  several  hours  a  day 
during  the  Christmas  vacation  in  order  to  make  up 
for  lost  time.  Lucius  found  the  house  very  dull.  An 
unexpected  invitation  from  his  cousin  John  Jermyn's 
mother  came  for  him  to  spend  the  week  after  Christmas 
at  the  Norfolk  Rectory,  but  remembering  his  cousin 
John  he  did  not  feel  attracted,  and  receiving  another 
invitation  the  day  after  to  the  ancestral  home  of  the 
Stubbses  he  accepted  that,  and  refused  the  other.  He 
went  up  to  Cambridge  early,  for  there  was  a  chance  of 
his  rowing  in  the  University  boat,  and  he  wanted  to 
keep  a  term  before  going  to  Putney,  if  he  should  be 
fortunate  enough  to  be  wanted  there ;  so  he  saw  next 
to  nothing  of  his  father  for  the  remainder  of  the  va- 
cation. 


CHAPTER  X 

"  THE  NEW   COUfiT  CHKONICLE  " 

Mr.  Binney  embarked  on  his  second  term  at  Cam- 
bridge with  the  full  intention  of  acquitting  himself  w  ith 
credit  and  freeing  his  character  from  the  suspicion  of 
unruliness  which  had  unfortunately  become  attached  to 
it.  He  was  very  much  in  earnest  about  his  work,  and 
mapped  out  a  course  of  arduous  study  which  was  to  be 
continued  right  up  to  the  following  June,  when  he 
hoped  to  make  up  for  his  first  failure  by  taking  a  high 
class  in  both  parts  of  the  Little-go.  The  Union  he 
was  determined  to  let  severely  alone.  His  pride  had 
had  a  severe  rebuff  from  the  indignity  whjch  had  been 
put  upon  him  in  the  elections.  "  They  can  do  without 
me"  said  Mr.  Binney  to  his  fellow-aspirant,  M'Gee. 
"  Very  well,  then,  I  will  show  them  that  I  can  do  with- 
out them,." 

"  Tocl) !  man,  have  another  try,"  said  the  indomit- 
able M'Gee.  "  Rome  wasn't  built  in  a  day."  But  he 
said  it  without  enthusiasm,  for  the  path  to  success,  ac- 
cording to  his  ideas,  did  not  lie  through  the  follies  and 
extravagances    to   which    Mr.    Binney    had    treated   his 

audience  during  the  previous  term. 

138 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      139 


a 


I  shall  never  speak  at  the  Union  again,  M'Gee," 
said  Mr.  Binney  firmly.     And  he  kept  his  word. 

He  was  a  little  troubled  as  to  what  course  he  should 
adopt  with  Howden  and  the  rest  of  his  athletic  friends. 
He  did  not  want  to  drop  them  altogether,  but  he 
wanted  to  make  it  clearly  understood  that  the  open 
restaurant  which  he  had  previously  conducted  for  their 
benefit  was  now  closed,  and  he  had  a  suspicion  that  its 
closing  might  mean  the  discontinuance  of  their  favour, 
and  a  consequent  loss  of  prestige  to  himself.  He  gave 
a  dinner  on  the  second  evening  of  the  term,  or  perhaps 
it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  Howden,  who 
professed  himself  delighted  to  meet  his  old  friend  once 
more  after  five  weeks*  absence,  gave  it  for  him  in  his 
rooms,  and  Mr.  Binney  paid  the  bill.  It  was  quite  as 
noisy  as  any  that  had  gone  before  it,  but  Mr.  Binney 
did  not  add  to  the  gaiety.  He  made  a  speech  in  the 
course  of  the  evening — ^he  was  rather  fond  of  making 
speeches — in  which  he  informed  his  friends  that  he  was 
about  to  embark  on  a  severe  course  of  study  and  found 
he  would  not  be  able  to  have  the  pleasure  of  entertain- 
ing them  quite  so  often  as  before  on  account  of  the 
time  that  was  thrown  away  over  these  festivities.  What 
he  said  was  cheered  to  the  echo,  which  gratified  him  not 
a  little,  but  Howden,  who  followed  him,  did  not  appear 
to  have  taken  his  remarks  in  the  least  seriously,  and 
assured  him  in  a  voice  broken  with  emotion,  that  they 
would  all  stick  by  him  and  never  forsake  him.     This 


140  PETER  BINNEY 

was  not  quite  what  Mr.  Binney  wanted,  but  Howden's 
affecting  periods  caused  such  an  outburst  of  enthusiasm 
that  he  succumbed  to  the  general  goodwill  and  allowed 
the  matter  to  stand  over  for  the  present. 

On  the  next  afternoon,  however,  it  was  decided  for 
him.  He  was  sitting  over  his  books  for  an  hour  before 
hall  when  he  received  a  call  from  Mirrilces,  the  Captain 
of  the  First  Trinity  Boat  Club.  Mirrilees  was  an  ac- 
quaintance of  whom  Mr.  Binney  might  reasonably  have 
been  proud  if  he  had  ever  shown  the  slightest  wish  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  our  hero  apart  from  his 
official  position  as  captain  of  the  boat  club  to  which 
Mr.  Binney  belonged.  He  was  tall  and  well  set  up,  a 
really  fine  oar  and  a  thoroughly  good  fellow  in  the  best 
sense  of  that  misused  term.  He  was  not  everybody's 
friend,  even  in  the  exceedingly  tolerant  atmosphere  of 
undergraduate  Cambridge,  and  athletes  of  the  type  of 
Howden  disliked  him,  and  said  so  freely;  but  Mr.  Bin- 
ney had  kept  his  own  opinion  on  this  point,  and  if 
there  was  one  man  in  Cambridge  whom  he  respected 
with  all  the  force  of  the  hero-worship  which  was  a  part 
of  his  still  undeveloped  character,  it  was  Mirrilees.  He 
therefore  rose  to  his  feet,  and  showed  by  his  nervous- 
ness of  manner  that  he  fully  appreciated  the  honour 
done  to  him. 

Mirrilees  sat  down  on  the  sofa  and  refused  the 
proffered  suggestion  of  refreshment.  His  keen  eyes 
glanced  round  the  room  and  then  rested  on  Mr.  Binney. 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      141 


li 


I  told  you  last  term,"  he  said,  "  that  we  might 
want  you  to  steer  the  first  Lent  boat.  You're  a  light 
weight  and  you've  got  a  head  on  your  shoulders.  At 
least  you  haven't  lost  it  yet  on  the  river,  although  you 
seem  to  have  done  so  occasionally  elsewhere." 

What  Mr.  Binney  suffered  at  that  instant  in  the  way 
of  remorse  is  beyond  description.  This  was  a  very 
different  thing  to  Mr.  Rimington's  strictures  on 
his  conduct.  He  made  no  reply,  but  hung  his 
head. 

"  Now  I've  come  to  offer  you  the  place "  Mr. 

Binney  revived  a  little — "but  on  certain  conditions.  I 
am  not  going  to  have  the  cox  of  any  boat  I've  got  any- 
thing to  do  with  making  himself  more  ridiculous  than 
he  is  by  nature.  We  shall  be  laughed  at,  of  course, 
for  having  a  man  of  your  age  in  the  boats  at  all.  I 
don't  mind  that  as  long  as  that's  all  there  is  to  laugh 
at.  What  I'm  not  going  to  stand  is  your  making  your- 
self the  butt  and  crony  of  every  drunken  rowdy  in  Cam- 
bridge. I  say  what  I've  got  to  say  perfectly  straight 
as  captain  of  the  club  to  one  of  its  members  who  may 
turn  out  useful  to  it.  If  you  lay  it  to  heart  and  don't 
take  offence  I  shall  have  done  what  I  wanted  to  do. 
If  you  don't  like  such  plain  speaking,  say  so,  and  I'll 
clear  out,  and  we  need  never  speak  to  one  another 
again." 

Mr.  Binney's  choler  had  shown  signs  of  rising  during 
this  very  plain  and  unvarnished  statement  of  the  light 


142  PETER  BINNEY 

in  which  Mirrilccs  regarded  him,  but  the  hint  with  which 
the  address  had  closed  brought  it  down  again. 

"  I  don't  take  offence,"  he  said  slowly,  "  though  I*m 
not  used  to — to " 

"  Well,  perhaps  I  put  it  a  bit  too  strong,"  said 
Mirrilees,  "  but  if  I  were  you.  I  shouldn't  have  anything 
more  to  do  with  Howden  and  that  lot.  I  hear  that 
they  were  all  here  last  night  again  as  usual,  and  that's 
why  I'm  talking  to  you  now.  They're  only  sponging 
on  you  and  making  you  appear  a  fool  all  the  time.  If 
you  steer  the  first  Lent  boat  this  term — and  mind, 
though  I  make  no  promises,  that's  intended  to  mean 
the  first  May  boat  next  term — you'll  Iiave  to  train  with 
the  rest,  and  that  will  mean  knocking  off  all  these  diver- 
sions ;  and  you'll  find  plenty  of  good  chaps  in  the  boat 
club  without  running  after  footballers,  amongst  whom 
you  can't  exactly  expect  to  shine." 

"  I'm  very  grateful  to  you,  Mirrilees,  for  your  kind 
advice,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  I  shall  certainly  take  it, 
and  you  may  rely  upon  me  to  do  my  best  for  the  honour 
of  the  club." 

"  That's  all  right  then,"  said  Mirrilees,  rising. 
"  Walters  is  captain  of  your  boat,  as  you  know,  but  I 
thought  I'd  just  come  round  and  settle  things  up. 
Good-night !  " 

Outside  in  the  darkness  of  Jesus  Lane,  Mirrilees 
smiled  continuously.  "  Good  Lord !  "  he  said  to  him- 
self.    "  Fancy  talking  like  that  to  the  father  of  one 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      143 

of  your  pals !  But  it  was  the  only  way,  and  I  thought 
he'd  stand  it  somehow.  I  rather  fancy  I've  done  Lucy 
a  good  turn.     But  I  hope  he'll  never  know." 

He  left  Mr.  Binney  in  a  fervour  of  amended  ambi- 
tions. What  a  grand  thing  it  would  be  to  have  a  friend 
like  Mirrilees,  a  man  whom  most  people  turned  round 
to  look  at  if  they  passed  him  in  the  street,  a  man  who 
had  already  rowed  two  years  in  the  University  boat  and 
would  probably  row  two  years  more  before  he  left  Cam- 
bridge, a  man  whose  name  was  known  all  over  England. 
Why,  it  was  almost  as  good  as  knowing  Muttlebury  or 
Guy  Nickalls.  Lucius  knew  him,  of  course,  lucky  young 
beggar.  He  wondered  whether  it  was  worth  while  mak- 
ing another  attempt  to  make  acquaintances  through  his 
son,  but  the  memory  of  Blathgowrie  and  others  deterred 
him,  for  Lucius's  friends  were  not  all  Mirrilees's,  and 
he  made  up  his  mind  to  deserve  the  great  man's  favour 
by  a  brilliant  career  as  a  cox,  and  extreme  carefulness 
as  to  his  behaviour  both  on  the  river  and  away  from 
it. 

And  so  for  the  best  part  of  that  term  Mr.  Binney's 
behaviour  was  irreproachable.  He  never  missed  a  lec- 
ture or  an  appointment  with  his  Coach,  and  the  amount 
of  work  he  got  through  in  the  privacy  of  his  rooms  was 
little  short  of  marvellous.  He  was  on  the  river,  of 
course,  every  afternoon,  and  suffered  greatly  from  the 
exposure  to  the  cold  as  he  sat  in  his  narrow  seat,  fum- 
bling with  numbed  hands  at  the  rudder  lines,  and  was 


IM  PETER  BINNEY 

carried  swiftly  along  by  the  combined  exertions  of  the 
eight  stalwart  men  who  faced  him.  His  appearance  al- 
ways caused  some  merriment  on  the  tow-path,  and  the 
town  urchins  were  a  great  trial  to  him  with  their  coarse 
banter,  but  the  men  of  the  First  Trinity  Boat  Club, 
as  a  rule,  treated  him  with  the  respect  due  to  his  years, 
and,  if  they  did  show  a  slight  disinclination  to  walk  up 
from  the  boats  with  him,  or  to  admit  him  into  very 
close  intimacy  with  them,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  bear 
the  deprivation,  trusting  that  it  would  disappear  in 
time,  rather  than  fall  again  into  the  mistake  he  had 
made  in  trying  to  force  himself  upon  Blathgowrie  and 
his  friends.  As  for  Howden,  there  was  not  so  much 
trouble  with  him  as  Mr.  Binney  had  expected.  For  one 
thing,  he  played  Rugby  football  regularly  for  the  Uni- 
versity, and,  although  no  such  arduous  course  of  train- 
ing is  expected  from  a  football  player  as  is  necessary 
in  the  case  of  an  oarsman,  still  a  continuous  course  of 
hilarious  dinners  is  not  regarded  with  favour  by  those 
in  authority,  and  Ilowdcn  did  not  apply  so  often  as 
before  for  sustenance  at  Mr.  Binney's  table.  Mr.  Bin- 
ney also  conceived  the  idea  of  employing  Ilowden  him- 
self to  keep  his  friends  off  him.  He  got  him  to  talk 
about  his  financial  troubles  one  morning,  a  subject 
which  he  had  before  instinctively  avoided.  Howden  was 
nothing  loth,  and  poured  out  a  dismal  tale  of  debts  and 
duns.  Mr.  Binney  then  afforded  him  temporary  pe- 
cuniary relief,  and  asked,  as  a  favour,  that  Howden 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      145 

should  inform  his  friends  that  he,  Mr,  Binney,  was  very 
busy  this  term  and  would  not  be  able  to  see  quite  so 
much  of  them  as  before.  Howden  accepted  the  respon- 
sibility, and  discharged  it  satisfactorily,  and  Mr.  Bin- 
ney was  left  in  peace  to  carry  out  his  reformation. 

But,  alas !  the  old  proverb  still  holds  true :  "  Give  a 
dog  a  bad  name  and  hang  him."  Mr.  Binney  was  now 
an  exemplary  character,  but  nobody  would  believe  it. 
When  his  guests  left  his  rooms  after  the  evening  already 
alluded  to,  they  got  into  trouble  with  the  Proctors.  It 
was  the  usual  offence  of  smoking  in  cap  and  gown,  but 
Howden  added  to  it  by  running  away  from  avenging 
justice.  Neither  Proctor  nor  Bull-dogs  could  hope  to 
equal  him  at  that  game,  so  they  made  no  attempt  to 
enter  into  competition,  but  entered  up  his  name,  which 
was  perfectly  familiar  to  all  three  of  them,  instead. 
So  the  only  thing  Howden  got  by  his  little  sprint  was 
the  exercise,  which  he  did  not  require,  and  a  double  fine 
the  next  morning,  which  he  could  ill  afford  to  pay. 
His  escapade  also  came  to  the  ears  of  his  tutor,  Mr. 
Rimington.  He  would  not  have  taken  notice  of  such  a 
comparatively  slight  offence,  if  such  offences  had  not 
been  of  frequent  occurrence  with  Howden.  As  it  was, 
he  sent  for  him  and  talked  to  him,  and  then  it  came  out 
that  Howden  had  been  dining  with  Mr.  Binney.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  Mr.  Rimington  had  expostulated 
with  Mr.  Binney  on  the  last  day  of  the  previous  term, 
and  this  occurrence  had  taken  place  on  the  second  day 


146  PETER  BINNEY 

of  tlie  present  term.  Mr.  Rlmington  may  tlierefore  be 
excused  for  coming  to  the  conclusion  tliat  his  expostu- 
lations had  had  very  little  effect,  and  that  Mr.  Binncy 
was  proceeding  on  the  reckless  career  which  had  made 
him  such  a  nuisance  to  those  responsible  for  the  order 
of  the  college.  He  said  nothing  on  this  occasion,  but 
continued  to  regard  Mr.  Binncy  with  feelings  of  strong 
disfavour. 

Mr.  Binney  might  have  lived  down  his  reputation  in 
time  had  it  not  been  artificially  sustained  for  him  by 
the  journal  to  which  we  have  already  referred,  the  New 
Court  Chronicle.  The  editor  of  that  enterprising  pub- 
lication had  found  that  Mr.  Binney's  eccentricities 
made  very  good  copy  for  him  in  the  previous  term,  and 
confidently  looked  forward  to  keeping  up  his  circulation 
by  exploiting  our  hero  to  a  considerable  extent  as  long 
as  his  paper  should  continue  to  run.  He  had  had  an 
altercation  with  Lucius  one  night  in  the  Great  Court 
upon  one  of  those  occasions  when  two  factions  meet  and 
mutually  disagree,  and  although,  or  probably  because, 
he  had  been  in  the  wrong,  the  editor  of  the  New  Court 
Chronicle  bore  Lucius  a  grudge  and  was  not  above  pay- 
ing it  off  by  ridiculing  his  father.  He  had  also  been 
one  of  the  band  whom  Howdcn  had  frequently  invited 
to  partake  of  Mr.  Binney's  hospitality,  with  which  he 
had  made  so  free  that  Mr.  Binney  had  decided  that  in 
his  case  at  least  he  would  give  the  cold  shoulder  himself 
and   not   entrust   the  work   entirely   to   Howden.      The 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      147 

journalistic  gentleman  had  not  taken  this  very  kindly, 
and  a  flavour  of  malice  had  crept  into  his  witticisms, 
where  before  there  had  only  been  good-humoured  chaff. 
As  Mr.  Binney  gave  him  very  little  occasion  now  for 
humorous  writing,  he  allowed  himself  a  freer  hand,  and 
invented  stories  against  him  instead  of  merely  repeating 
them. 

In  order  to  provide  a  fitting  framework  for  his 
humour,  he  published  each  week  a  correspondence  be- 
tween Mr.  Binney  in  Cambridge  and  an  imaginary 
mother  in  London,  in  which  the  former  recounted  his 
exploits,  and  the  latter  commented  upon  them.  The 
idea  was  carried  out  with  some  humour  and  proved  to 
be  an  acceptable  feature  of  the  paper.  Unfortunately 
the  editor  had  hit  upon  the  name  of  "  Martha "  for 
Mr.  Binney's  supposed  mother,  and  her  letters  were 
not  so  unlike  Mrs.  Higginbotham's  in  style  as  quite  to 
relieve  Mr.  Binney  of  the  suspicion  that  the  story  of 
his  wooing  of  that  good  woman  had  reached  Cambridge. 
The  only  two  people  who  could  possibly  be  suspected 
of  divulging  it  were  Lucius  and  Dizzy,  and  after  the 
issue  of  the  first  instalment  he  went  angrily  round  to 
his  son's  rooms  to  see  if  the  offence  could  be  brought 
home  to  him.  Lucius  was  out,  but  seated  comfortably 
in  his  armchair  and  smoking  one  of  his  cigars  was 
Dizzy,  who  must  have  been  the  culprit,  If  Lucius  were 
not,  thought  Mr.  Binney. 

Ah,  Mr.  Binney,  pleased  to  see  you  again,"  said 


a 


148  PETER  BINNEY 

Dizzy  genially.  "  How  are  you  feeling !  Pretty  toll- 
lollish?" 

"  No,  Stubbs,  I  am  not  feeling  particularly  *  toU- 
lollish  '  just  at  j)resent — I  thank  you  all  the  same,"  said 
Mr.  Binney  severely.  "  I  don't  know  whether  this  pub- 
lication has  come  to  your  notice  yet.''  "  Mr.  Binney 
put  a  copy  of  the  New  Court  Chronicle  on  the  table, 
which  Dizzy  took  up  and  glanced  through  with  interest. 

"  It  ain't  bad,"  he  said,  "  though  it's  got  up  by  a 
set  of  rotters.  Hullo,  what's  this — something  about 
you,  Mr.  Binney,  eh.'*  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney  angrily,  "  and  a  most 
scurrilous  piece  of  work  it  is.  My  dear  mother,  sir, 
has  lain  in  her  grave  these  twenty  years.  It  is  a  scan- 
dalous thing  that  contempt  should  be  poured  on  her 
memory  in  this  indecent  fashion." 

"  It  is,"  said  Dizzy  warmly.  "  A  most  preposterous 
thing!  I  quite  agree  with  you.  These  fellows  ought 
to  be  kicked,  every  one  of  them.  And  if  they  treated 
my  old  mater  in  that  way  I'd — I'd  pay  somebody  to 
do  it." 

"  But  that  is  not  all,  sir,"  continued  Mr.  Binney. 
"  I  don't  know  Avhether  you  recollect  meeting  a  lady  of 
the  name  of  Higglnbotham  at  my  table.''  " 

"Mrs.  Higginbotham !  "  exclaimed  Dizzy.  "Why, 
of  course  I  do.  And  a  most  engaging  old  lady  she  was 
too.      Don't  know  when  I've  met  a  nicer." 

"  I'm   obliged  for  your  good  ojiinion  sir,"  said  Mr. 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      149 

Binney  stiffly,  "  although  I  confess  the  idea  of  Mrs. 
Higginbotham  as  an  old  lady  is  a  new  one  to  me.  You 
are  probably  aware  that  her  Christian  name  is  Martha." 

"  First  I've  heard  of  it,"  said  Dizzy,  "  but  it's  an 
excellent  name.  I  had  an  old  aunt  called  Martha,  and 
I  thought  she  was  going  to  leave  me  a  lot  of  money ; 
but  she  didn't." 

"  You  are  sure  that  you  didn't  know  that  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham's  name  was  Martha?"  asked  Mr.  Binney 
suspiciously. 

"  'Pon  my  word  I  hadn't  the  slightest  idea  of  it,  Mr. 
Binney,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I  shouldn't  have  had  a  word  to 
say  if  you'd  told  me  it  was  Mary.  But  why  do  you 
ask?  " 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  If  you  give  me 
your  word  of  honour  as  a  gentleman  that  the  fact  is 
new  to  you,  I  accept  your  assurance,  and  there  let  the 
matter  end.  Here  is  Lucius.  I  should  like  to  have  a 
word  alone  with  him,  if  you  will  permit  me,  Stubbs." 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  obliging  Dizzy,  rising  instantly. 
"  Come  round  and  give  me  a  look  in  presently,  Lucy. 
I'll  take  another  of  those  weeds  of  yours  if  I  may." 

When  he  had  got  outside,  Mr.  Binney  turned  to  his 
son,  with,  "Now,  sir,  what  is  the  meaning  of  this?" 

Lucius  glanced  at  the  paper  to  which  his  father 
pointed. 

"  Oh,  I've  read  the  rubbish,"  he  said  wearily.  "  It 
makes  me  sick." 


150  PETER  BINNEY 

"  Read  it,"  said  Mr.  Binncy.  "  Yes,  I've  no  doubt 
you've  read  it,  sir.  What  I  should  like  to  know  is  how 
much  you  wrote  of  it." 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  said  Lucius.  "  I've 
had  quite  enough  mud  thrown  at  me  since  you've  been 
up  here,  father.  It  isn't  likely  I  should  take  to  throw- 
ing it  at  myself." 

"  Don't  prevaricate,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binncy,  his  voice 
rising.     "Did  you  write  it,  or  did  you  not?" 

"  I'm  not  going  to  answer  such  a  ridiculous  ques- 
tion," said  Lucius  sulkily. 

"  Then  I  will  answer  it  for  you,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  You  did  write  it.  I  know  you  have  always  nourished 
evil  feelings  against  that  excellent  woman  Martha  Hig- 
ginbotham,  who  I  hope  will  one  day  do  you  the  honour 
of  becoming  your  mother.  Not  content  with  wreaking 
your  unfilial  spite  against  your  own  father  who  begat 
you,  you  must  smirch  the  good  name  of  a  lady  who  has 
always  loaded  you  with  kindness.  Out  upon  such  con- 
duct, I  say." 

Lucius  held  his  head  in  his  hands.  "  I  suppose  I 
shall  understand  it  all  soon,"  he  said.  "At  present  it 
sounds  like  one  of  Dr.  Toller's  sermons.  Is  there  any- 
thing about  you  and  Mrs.  Higginbotham  in  the  adver- 
tisements, father?  I've  read  all  the  rest  of  the  rag  and 
I  don't  remember  her  name  being  mentioned." 

"  What  is  that  name,  sir?  "  asked  Mr.  Binney,  point- 
ing to  the  signature  of  his  imaginary  mother's  letters. 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      151 


Martha  Binnej,"  read  Lucius. 

Yes,  Martha  Binney,"  echoed  his  father.  "  And  in 
two  years  and  a  half  from  now,  Martha  Higginbotham 
will  change  her  name  for  Martha  Binney,  if  we're  both 
spared." 

"  It'll  be  a  change  for  the  better  then,  as  far  as  she's 
concerned,"  said  Lucius.  "  But  what  are  you  driving 
at,  father.'*  You  can't  really  think  I  wrote  that  or 
had  anything  to  do  with  it.  I'm  not  such  a  scug  as 
all  that." 

"  And  pray  who  else  up  here  but  you  knows  that  Mrs. 
Higginbotham's  name  is  Martha?"  inquired  Mr.  Bin- 
ney.    "  That's  my  point." 

"  Well,  I  don't  think  it's  much  of  a  point,"  said 
Lucius.  "  It's  a  fluke,  their  happening  to  hit  upon 
that  name.  But,  look  here,  can't  you  stop  this  sort  of 
thing?  It's  really  awful  the  way  things  are  going  on. 
I  don't  suppose  there's  anybody  ever  been  up  here  who's 
had  such  a  miserable  time  as  I'm  having.  Other  fel- 
lows respect  their  fathers.  You  simply  don't  give  me 
a  chance." 

This  touched  Mr.  Binney  to  the  quick.  He  was  very 
susceptible  to  criticism  since  Mirrilees  had  spoken  to 
him  so  plainly.  "  I'm  afraid  I  have  given  you  some 
reason  to  say  that,  my  boy,"  he  said.  "  I — I  was  led 
away  last  term.  I  was  under  a  wrong  impression  of 
what  was  the  thing  and  what  wasn't  the  thing.  But 
that  is  all  changed  now.     I  have  become  a  reading  man 


152  PETEK  BINNEY 

and  a  boating  man.      I  have  turned  the  page  on  every- 
thing else." 

"  There  was  that  dinner  with  Howden  and  the  rest 
of  them  the  very  night  after  wc  came  up,"  said  Lucius. 

"  It  was  the  last  dinner  that  Howden  will  get  out  of 
me,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  I  have  done  with  him — at 
least  I  hope  so." 

"  Well,  then,  there's  some  hope,"  said  Lucius.  "  And, 
look  here,  fatlicr,  if  you've  really  given  up  that  sort 
of  thing  there's  a  much  better  chance  of  j'our  getting 
on  with  the  fellows  worth  knowing.  I  shouldn't  take 
any  notice  of  that  business,  if  I  were  you.  It  will  die 
down  in  time.  Would  you  care  to  come  to  lunch  to- 
morrow? Mirrilces  is  coming.  He's  a  good  chap, 
you'll  like  to  meet  him." 

"  Oh,  I  know  him  well.  He  was  in  my  rooms  a  few 
days  ago,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  But  I  should  like  to 
meet  him  again  very  much.  Yes,  I'll  come,  Lucius," 
and  Mr.  Binney  went  away  feeling  that  the  reward  of 
good  behaviour  had  already  come,  in  spite  of  the  New 
Court  Chronicle. 

But,  alas!  Mr,  Binncy's  reputation  proved  harder 
matter  to  live  down  than  lie  had  anticipated.  The  men 
whom  he  met  on  the  river  fought  rather  shy  of  him,  for 
to  tell  the  truth,  there  was  very  little  to  recommend 
the  poor  little  gentleman  as  a  companion  for  youth  if 
he  was  to  bo  taken  seriously  as  he  now  seemed  to  desire. 
Howden  and  Co.  had  only  put  up  with  him  because  of 


"  THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE  "      153 

his  dinners,  and  because,  at  the  time  he  had  consorted 
with  them,  he  had  apparently  not  objected  to  being 
made  the  butt  of  their  not  over-refined  pleasantries. 
He  now  led  a  very  dull  and  dejected  life,  but  his  work 
kept  him  employed,  and  the  prospects  of  his  boat  in  the 
Lent  races  gave  him  something  to  look  forward  to  with 
keen  expectation.  The  First  Trinity  first  Lent  boat 
had  fallen  to  the  fourth  place  on  the  river,  but  this 
year  it  was  by  far  the  best  crew  practising,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  the  head  boat.  It  was  expected 
to  make  its  first  three  bumps  with  comparative  ease, 
and  to  row  an  exciting  race  with  Trinity  Hall  in  the 
last  night  of  the  races  for  the  head  place  on  the  river. 
Whenever  Mr.  Binney  felt  inclined  to  get  down-hearted 
at  the  thought  of  his  unpopularity  he  would  buoy  him- 
self up  with  the  anticipation  of  the  glory  that  would 
accrue  to  him  if  his  hopes  were  realised. 

Unfortunately  the  editor  of  the  New  Court  Chronicle 
found  his  journalistic  ingenuity  increasing  with  prac- 
tice, and  spent  such  pains  over  "  The  Binney  Corre- 
spondence," that  that  feature  of  his  paper  soon  became 
the  talk  of  Cambridge.  After  the  third  number  Mr. 
Binney  wrote  him  a  letter  of  expostulation,  which  he 
published  with  appropriate  comment,  but  of  which  he 
took  no  further  notice.  That  week's  instalment  of  the 
Correspondence  contained  an  account  from  "  Your  re- 
pentant son,  Peter  Binney,"  of  how  he  had  been  asked 
to  dine  with  the  Vice-Chancellor,  had  disgraced  himself 


154.  PETER  BINNEY 

by  drinking  too  much  wine,  and  had  been  escorted  home 
by  the  two  Esquire  Bedells  with  their  .silver  pokers, 
while  he  raised  the  town  with  a  spirited  rendering  of 
"  Rule  Britannia."  Mrs.  Binney,  the  mother,  ex- 
pressed herself  heart-broken  at  the  news,  and  announced 
her  intention  of  coming  up  to  Cambridge  to  implore  the 
Vice-Chancellor  to  overlook  the  offence,  and  give  her 
erring  boy  another  chance.  She  also  alluded  to  her 
grand-daughter  Lucy,  who  was  supposed  to  be  studying 
at  Girton  College.  "  She  is  a  good  girl,"  wrote  the 
old  lady,  "  and  would  be  ashamed  to  carry  on  in  the 
way  you  do,  Peter,  but  the  dear  child  tells  me  she  wishes 
she  had  been  sent  to  Newnham  College.  She  likes  the 
students  there  so  much  better." 

Poor  little  Mr,  Binney  went  round  to  his  son's  rooms 
almost  in  tears.  He  found  Lucius  still  more  angry  than 
himself,  for,  although  his  admiration  of  the  Newnham 
girl  was  well  known  among  his  immediate  friends,  and 
he  did  not  take  a  mild  degree  of  chaff  on  the  subject 
at  all  ill,  the  vulgar  publicity  now  given  to  it  goaded 
him  to  the  verge  of  desperation. 

"  Oh,  it's  you,  father,"  he  said.  "  I'm  going  round 
to  that  fellow  Piper  to  tell  him  if  this  business  isn't 
stopped  I'll  knock  his  teeth  down  his  throat." 

"  Ah,  Lucius,'*  said  Mr.  Binney  plaintively.  "  I  wish 
I  was  big  and  strong  like  you.  I'd  have  done  that  long 
ago.  But  you're  a  good  boy  to  stick  up  for  your  poor 
father.      I'm  going  to  increase  your  allowance  by  £10 


"THE  NEW  COURT  CHRONICLE"      155 

for  asking  me  to  lunch  to  meet  Mirrilees,  and  if  you 
get  these  disgraceful  attacks  stopped  I'll  add  another 
£20.  You'll  get  back  to  the  old  figure  if  you're  careful, 
and  even  beyond  it." 

"  Thanks,  father,"  said  Lucius,  "  but  I  don't  want 
paying  for  doing  a  thing  like  that.  I've  got  a  little 
score  of  my  own  against  Mr.  Piper,  and  I'm  going  to 
pay  it  off  now."  And  Lucius  took  up  his  cap  and  left 
the  room. 


CHAPTER  XI 

"  PUT  HIM  IN   THE  FOUNTAIN  '* 

Mr.  Binney  had  wished  he  was  big  and  strong  like  his 
son.  As  a  matter  of  fact  Lucius  was  quite  a  light 
weight,  and  altliougli  wiry  and  in  good  condition,  it 
was  certain  that  he  was  quite  incapable  of  fulfilling  his 
threat  of  knocking  Piper's  teeth  down  his  throat,  unless 
Piper  allowed  him  to  do  so  without  making  any  resist- 
ance, which  was  unlikely.  Piper  was  a  great  heavy 
lump  of  bone  and  muscle,  over  six  feet  high,  and  quite 
as  fit  as  Lucius,  for  the  latter  had  been  finally  rejected 
for  the  University  boat,  for  this  year  at  least,  and  had 
gone  out  of  training,  while  Piper  was  still  playing  foot- 
ball. These  considerations  did  occur  to  Lucius  as  he 
walked  from  his  own  rooms  to  those  where  Piper  carried 
on  his  editorial  functions,  but  he  was  so  angry  that 
they  carried  little  weight  with  them.  In  the  New  Court 
he  met  Dizzy. 

"  Come  up  here  with  me,"  he  said.  "  I've  got  a  little 
job  on." 

Dizzy  followed  him  up  the  staircase  to  Piper's  rooms, 

talking  volubly,  as  was  his  wont;  but  Lucius  gave  him 

no  answer. 

Piper    was    discovered    sitting    at    his    table    talking 

156 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  "       1S7 

to  Howden,  who  stood  with  his  back  to  the  mantel- 
piece. 

Lucius  plunged  into  his  business  without  any  preface. 

"  Look  here,  sir,"  he  said,  "  I've  come  about  this 
stuff  you've  been  printing  about  me  and  my  father. 
I'll  trouble  you  to  stop  it,  if  you  don't  mind." 

Piper's  face  darkened.  He  was  a  bad-tempered  man. 
He  was  also  a  clever  man,  and  having  no  reason  to  be 
alarmed  at  any  possible  violence  on  Lucius's  part,  which 
he  would  rather  have  welcomed  than  otherwise,  he 
thought  he  might  as  well  draw  him  into  a  battle  of 
words  and  afford  his  intellect  some  little  amusement. 
So  he  choked  down  his  temper  and  said  quietly: 

"  You  are  Mr.  Binney,  junior,  I  believe.  You  are 
not  mentioned  from  one  end  of  the  paper  to  the  other, 
except  as  having  had  the  chuck  from  the  'Varsity 
boat,  and  I  don't  see  you've  any  reason  to  complain  of 
that." 

"  That's  a  lie,"  said  Lucius  instantly.  Piper  started 
from  his  chair,  but  sat  down  again  and  waited.  "  You 
know  perfectly  well,"  continued  Lucius  hotly,  "  that 
that  rot  about  Lucy  and  Girton  is  meant  for  me,  and 
even  if  it  wasn't  I  object  to  your  making  fun  of  my 
father." 

This  was  what  Piper  wanted.  "  Is  the  other  Binney 
your  father?"  he  said  with  a  sneer.  "I  didn't  know 
it.     If  I  had  a  father  like  that  I'd  drown  him." 

Lucius  made   a   dash  forward,   and   Piper   stood   up 


158  PETER  BINNEY 

with  an  evil  smile  on  his  face.  But  Stubbs  caught  hold 
of  his  friend  and  pulled  him  back,  and  Howden  stepped 
forward. 

"  Oh,  come  now,  Pips ! "  expostulated  he,  "  don't 
overdo  it,  old  man." 

But  Piper  took  no  notice.  He  suddenly  lost  all  con- 
trol over  his  temper. 

"  What  the  devil  do  you  mean  by  coming  blustering 
here.?  "  he  shouted.  "  Get  out  of  my  rooms  this  minute 
or  I'll  throw  you  out  of  the  window.  Yes,  you'd  better 
keep  him  back,  you  putty-faced  swab  " — this  to  Dizzy — 
*'  if  he  comes  near  me  I'll  put  some  marks  on  him  that 
he  won't  lose  in  a  hurry." 

Lucius  shook  off  Dizzy's  encircling  grasp. 

"  Will  you  stop  printing  lies  about  me  and  my 
father.?  "  he  said. 

"I  won't  stop  anything,"  rejoined  Piper. 

"Then  will  you  fight?" 

"  Figbt !  By  G — ,  yes.     Take  off  your  coat  and  try." 

Howden  and  Stubbs  both  tried  to  stop  them,  but 
they  might  as  well  have  tried  to  stop  the  tide  rising. 
They  were  shaken  off  impatiently.  Piper  pushed  the 
table  and  sofa  aside,  and  in  less  than  three  minutes 
after  Lucius  had  entered  the  room  they  were  at  it  ham- 
mer and  tongs. 

There  was  not  much  science  displayed.  The  room 
was  too  small,  for  one  thing,  and  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  damage  done  to  furniture  and  breakables  before  it 


"PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN"       159 

was  all  over.  If  Lucius  had  kept  cool  he  might  have 
made  up  in  some  measure  for  the  great  disparity  in 
weight  between  them,  for  he  knew  just  a  little  more  of 
the  game  than  Piper ;  but  both  of  them  were  blind 
with  rage,  and  it  was  attack  on  both  sides,  with  very 
little  defence,  as  long  as  it  lasted. 

It  did  not  last  long.  Lucius  fought  as  long  as  he 
could  stand,  but  his  blows  got  weaker  and  weaker,  while 
Piper  got  in  again  and  again  with  as  much  force  as  at 
first.  At  last  he  knocked  Lucius  clean  through  the 
glass  doors  of  a  cupboard  which  held  his  stock  of  crock- 
ery, and  he  fell  heavily  on  to  the  floor,  and  lay  there 
insensible,  with  the  blood  pouring  from  his  head.  Piper 
had  not  had  enough  even  to  cool  his  passion.  "  Get 
a  towel  and  water  from  the  bedroom,"  he  said  to  Dizzy, 
who  was  kneeling  by  the  side  of  his  friend.  *'  And  take 
him  out  of  this  as  soon  as  you  can.  I'm  not  going  to 
stay  in  the  same  room  with  him."  And  he  put  on  his 
coat  and  went  out  of  the  room. 

Howden  stayed  behind  and  helped  to  restore  Lucius 
to  consciousness.  "  It's  rot  his  tackling  a  chap  like 
Pips,"  he  said ;  "  he's  not  in  the  same  class  with  him, 
and  he's  a  demon  when  he's  roused.  I  wouldn't  care  to 
take  him  on  myself." 

"  He's  a  d — d  cad,"  said  Dizzy,  in  deep  concern, 
"  and  I  don't  care  if  he  hears  me  say  so." 

This  was  the  only  conversation  that  passed  between 
them  till  Lucius  came  round.     Then  they  both  helped 


160  PETER  BINNEY 

him  across  to  his  own  rooms  in  Whewell's  Court,  which 
they  reached  with  some  difficulty,  as  Lucius  was  dazed, 
and  as  weak  as  a  kitten.  Here  the  drama  changed 
from  tragedy  to  farce,  for  Mr.  Binney  was  waiting  for 
them,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  state  to  which  Lucius 
had  been  reduced  he  made  such  lamentations  that  neither 
Dizzy  nor  Howden  could  help  laughing. 

"Oh,  chuck  it,  Binney,"  said  Howden.  "He'll  be 
all  right  when  he  gets  to  bed." 

"  Go  out  and  get  a  doctor,  Mr.  Binney,"  said  Dizzy. 
"  He's  cut  his  head  with  some  broken  glass,  and  we 
can't  stop  the  bleeding." 

Mr.  Binney  dashed  out  instantly  in  a  frenzy  of  terror, 
and  Howden  and  Dizzy  helped  Lucius  off  with  his 
clothes  and  into  bed,  where  he  lay  silent  with  his  face 
to  the  wall,  while  the  blood  slowly  oozed  out  from  under 
the  bandages  on  his  head  and  soaked  into  his  pillow. 
The  two  stood  looking  at  him  irresolutely.   , 

"  I'm  all  right  now,"  said  Lucius  faintly,  "  you 
needn't  wait."     They  went  into  the  sitting-room. 

"  Look  here,  sir,"  said  Dizzy.  "  You  must  stop  this 
business.     It's  gone  quite  far  enough." 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  said  Howden,  "  I  didn't  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  it.  I  told  Piper  he  ought  to  stop  it 
when  Binney  wrote  to  object,  because — well,  because 
Binney  ain't  a  bad  old  chap  after  all,  and  it's  rough  on 
him.  But  he  wouldn't,  and  it  isn't  likely  he'll  stop  now, 
after  this." 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  ''       161 


4( 


Well,  if  he  won't  stop  it  of  his  own  accord,  he'll 
have  to  be  made  to,"  said  Dizzy. 

"  I  don't  know  who's  going  to  make  him,'*  said 
Howden. 

"  Oh,  I  think  we  can  manage  that,"  said  Dizzy. 

Mr.  Binney  came  back  with  a  doctor,  who  patched 
up  Lucius's  damaged  head  and  told  him  to  keep  in  bed 
until  he  should  come  again  on  the  next  day.  Mr.  Bin- 
ney kept  fussing  about  the  room  wringing  his  hands 
over  the  trouble  that  he  had  caused,  and  bewailing  the 
smallness  of  his  stature  which  debarred  him  from  visit- 
ing summary  justice  upon  Piper  for  the  way  he  had 
treated  his  son.  He  was  a  ridiculous  little  object  in 
his  grief,  and  his  behaviour  was  not  soothing  to  the 
nerves  of  a  sick  man. 

"  Do  get  him  away,"  whispered  Lucius  to  Dizzy. 
"  I  want  to  go  to  sleep ;  "  and  the  latter,  by  the  exercise 
of  infinite  tact,  managed  to  remove  Mr.  Binney  from 
the  premises.  A  short  time  afterwards,  having  seen 
that  Lucius  was  comfortably  settled,  he  removed  him- 
self, and  then  set  to  work  to  lay  plans  to  circum- 
vent Piper  and  cause  the  downfall  of  the  New  Court 
Chronicle.  First  of  all  he  went  round  to  the  rooms  of 
an  influential  member  of  the  Third  Trinity  Boat  Club, 
a  man  named  Tait,  who  was  rowing  "  Seven  "  in  the 
University  boat.  He  found  him  at  home,  and  with  him 
were  Mirrilees,  two  other  members  of  the  University 
crew,  and  our  old  acquaintance  Blathgowrie.     To  them 


I(i2  PETER  BINNEY 

he  conhckd  his  story,  which  was  received  with  interest 
and  indignation,  for  Lucius  was  a  popular  member  of 
the  boating  set,  between  which  and  the  ch'que  represented 
by  Howden  and  Piper  there  happened  to  be  a  certain 
amount  of  bad  blood  at  that  particular  time. 

"  It's  all  the  fault  of  that  confounded  little  bantam," 
said  Blathgowrie,  when  Dizzy's  tale  had  come  to  an  end. 
"  It's  jolly  good  of  Lucy  to  fight  his  battles  for 
him  after  the  way  he's  treated  him.  I'm  hanged  if  I 
would." 

"  Those  letters  are  the  best  thing  in  Piper's  scur- 
rilous rag,"  said  Tait.  "  It's  a  pity  to  stop  them,  but 
if  Lucy  objects — and  I  expect  it  was  more  on  his  own 
account  than  his  governor's — I  think  it's  about  time 
the  paper  was  suppressed.  I've  a  good  mind  to  take 
Mr.  Piper  on  myself." 

"  You  can't  do  that,"  said  Mirrilees  quickly.  "  You 
miglit  manage  to  lick  him,  but  even  that  isdoubtful, 
and  he'd  damage  you  so  that  you  wouldn't  be  able  to 
row  for  a  day  or  two.  Besides,  if  you  licked  him  once 
a  week  from  now  till  the  end  of  the  term  he  wouldn't 
stop  the  paper.     He's  not  that  sort." 

"  It's  got  to  be  stopped  somehow,"  said  Dizzy. 

"Who  publishes  it?"  asked  Blathgowrie. 

"  Breedon,"  said  Tait. 

"  Very  well,  then.  We'll  tell  him  to  leave  off,  and  if 
he  don't  we'll  boycott  him.  We  can  get  everybody  to 
go  somewhere  else  for  thoir  menus  and  all  those  little 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  »       163 

jobs.  He  won't  hesitate  long  between  us  and  Mr. 
Piper,  I  think." 

Blathgowrie  busied  himself  to  some  purpose,  and  sub- 
mitted to  Messrs.  Breedon  &  Co.  a  considerable  list  of 
gentlemen  who  proposed  to  transfer  their  valuable  cus- 
tom if  another  number  of  the  New  Court  Chronicle  ap- 
peared with  Messrs.  Breedon's  name  on  the  cover.  The 
firm  caved  in  at  once  and  intimated  to  the  editor  that  he 
must  find  another  publisher.  Piper  made  himself  very 
objectionable,  but  Messrs.  Breedon  &  Co.  were  firm,  and 
absolutely  refused  to  bring  out  another  number  for  him. 
Piper  had  now  got  his  back  up  and  swore  to  go  on  pub- 
lishing his  paper  if  he  brought  out  every  number  at  a 
loss.  He  found  a  more  obscure  stationer  than  Messrs. 
Breedon  &  Co.  who  was  willing  to  oblige  him,  and  went 
on  with  his  editorial  functions,  throwing  far  more  vigour 
and  malice  into  the  next  instalment  of  the  "  Binney 
Correspondence  "  than  he  had  done  before. 

Poor  Lucius  lay  alone  that  afternoon  in  his  comfort- 
less college  bedroom.  He  was  very  miserable.  He  felt 
weak  and  ill,  and  his  thoughts  took  a  melancholy  turn. 
He  had  done  no  good  by  his  single  combat  with  the  re- 
doubtable Piper ;  in  fact,  things  would  now  probably  be 
worse  than  before.  He  had  no  energy  to  feel  angry 
with  his  father,  but  he  saw  the  whole  University  point- 
ing fingers  of  scorn  at  him,  an  unpleasantness  which 
might  be  expected  to  continue  and  increase  as  long  as 
he  remained   at   Cambridge.     The  hope  which  he  had 


164  PETER  BINNEY 

entertained  up  to  a  week  ago  of  a  place  in  the  University 
boat  no  longer  buoyed  him  up  against  adversity.  In 
his  present  state  of  depression  he  saw  himself  missing 
everything  that  made  Cambridge  interesting  to  him,  and 
heartily  wished  himself  away  from  the  place  altogether. 
His  thoughts,  nowadays,  seldom  kept  long  away  from 
the  girl  whom  he  had  seen  for  the  first  time  last  term, 
but  there  was  not  much  comfort  to  be  got  out  of  think- 
ing about  her.  He  had  not  been  so  fortunate  this  term 
as  to  have  hit  upon  a  lecture  which  she  attended,  and 
no  longer  had  the  satisfaction  of  sitting  in  the  same 
room  with  her  for  an  hour,  twice  a  week.  He  had  dis- 
covered that  she  went  to  a  lecture  at  St.  John's  College, 
and  used  to  hang  about  outside  the  gates  on  the  chance 
of  seeing  her  as  she  went  to  and  fro.  But  there  are 
two  ways  between  Newnham  and  St.  John's,  one  along 
Trinity  Street  and  the  King's  Parade,  the  other  past 
the  backs  of  the  colleges,  and  after  a  time  the  uncom- 
fortable conviction  took  hold  of  Lucius  that  his  divinity 
was  taking  a  malicious  delight  in  dodging  him.  If  he 
waited  outside  the  big  gate  of  St.  John's,  she  went  home 
by  the  backs,  and  if  he  lay  in  wait  on  the  Bridge  of 
Sighs,  she  would  go  through  the  town.  And  upon  the 
rare  occasions  when  he  did  meet  her  face  to  face  there 
was  no  simi  that  she  was  so  much  as  aware  of  his  exist- 
ence.  Lying  on  his  bed,  with  heavy  heart  and  throb- 
bing head,  as  the  light  of  the  short  winter  afternoon 
slowly  died,  poor  Lucius  took  the  gloomiest  view  of  his 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  »       165 

chances  of  ever  becoming  better  acquainted  with  her. 

Just  as  he  had  reached  the  lowest  possible  depths  of 
depression,  Mirrilees  and  Tait  came  in  to  see  him,  and 
to  sympathise.  They  told  him  of  Blathgowrie's  strat- 
egy. They  had  not  discovered  yet  that  Piper  had  cir- 
cumvented it,  and  arranged  to  produce  his  paper  from 
another  address. 

"  We're  going  to  hoot  Piper  in  hall  to-night,"  said 
Tait,  "  and  see  if  we  can't  bring  on  a  scrimmage  after- 
wards. If  we  do,  we'll  put  him  in  the  fountain.  I 
expect  he'll  oblige  us.     He's  a  pugnacious  beggar." 

When  they  had  gone,  he  received  an  unexpected  visit 
from  his  cousin,  John  Jermyn,  who  was  much  surprised 
to  find  him  in  bed,  and  hardly  knew  how  to  express  him- 
self with  reference  to  current  events.  In  a  small  way, 
in  his  own  college,  John  Jermyn  had  suffered  some  an- 
noyance from  his  relationship  to  Mr.  Binney,  and  was 
not  particularly  proud  of  it.  His  shyness,  however, 
prevented  him  from  alluding  to  his  cousin's  reputation. 
If  he  had  done  so,  he  might  have  discovered  that  Lucius, 
in  spite  of  his  loyalty,  was  not  very  well  pleased  with 
his  father  at  that  particular  time. 

"  My  mother  is  coming  up  next  week  for  a  few  days," 
said  Jermyn,  "  and  I  came  to  ask  you  if  you  would 
lunch  with  us  on  Tuesday.  There  will  only  be  she  and 
my  sister  from  Newnham.     You  haven't  met  her  yet." 

"But  surely,  your  sister  is  at  Girton,  isn't  she?" 
said  Lucius. 


166  TETER  BINNEY 

"  No,  Ncwnhain,"  said  Jcrnijn. 

Lucius's  heart  suddenly  lightened.  Any  connection 
with  Newnham  was  welcome  to  him,  and  opened  up  pos- 
sibilities. 

"  Why,  I  went  out  to  Girton  to  call  on  her,"  said 
Lucius ;  "  they  said  she  was  out." 

"  Ratiier  lucky,"  said  his  cousin.  "  That's  a  Miss 
German  with  a  G.  Well,  then,  you'll  come  on  Tues- 
day, if  you're  well  enough,  at  lialf-past  one." 

"  Yes,  I'll  come,"  said  Lucius.     "  Thanks  very  much.'* 

When  his  cousin  had  left  him  he  found  that  his  spirits 
had  lightened  considerably.  The  visit  of  his  friends 
had  cheered  him,  for  he  had  thought  that  if  he  was  to 
fight  his  father's  battles  for  him  he  would  liave  to  fight 
them  alone,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  find  that  there  were 
others  on  his  side.  And  the  Newnham  girl  seemed  to 
be  nearer  to  him,  somehow,  now  he  knew  that  she  and 
his  cousin  were  at  the  same  college.  He  begAn  to  build 
castles  in  the  air.  He  knew  that  his  cousin  was  in  her 
first  year,  and  he  thought  that  if  his  divinity  had  been 
in  Cambridge  before  last  term,  he  must  have  noticed 
her;  so  the  two  were  of  the  same  year,  and  probably 
friends.  He  might  get  to  know  her  through  his  cousin — 
though  it  was  difficult  to  see  how  an  introduction  could 
be  brouglit  about.  At  any  rate  he  would  be  able  to 
find  out  her  name,  and  that  was  something.  He  was 
rather  sorry  that  he  had  refused  the  invitation  to  the 
Norfolk  Rectory  at  Christmas.     He  would  make  up  for 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  "       167 

it  by  cultivating  his  cousins  now.  He  comforted  him- 
self with  rosy  visions,  and  by-and-bye  fell  asleep.  Mr. 
Binney  came  in  after  his  afternoon's  work  on  the  river 
was  over,  and  went  out  again.  Dizzy  crept  in,  looked 
at  him,  and  crept  away  again  on  tiptoe.  But  still 
Lucius  slept  on,  and  when  he  woke  again  about  nine 
o'clock  he  was  very  much  better. 

In  the  meantime  the  ill-feeling  between  the  boating 
men  and  the  football  players,  fanned  by  Piper's  treat- 
ment of  Lucius,  had  burnt  up  to  a  blaze.  When  Piper 
went  into  hall  that  night,  a  little  late,  there  was  a  chorus 
of  groans  and  hisses  as  he  passed  the  table  where 
Mirrilees  and  Tait  sat.  He  stopped  for  an  instant, 
and  an  ugly  look  came  over  his  face.  The  groans  grew 
louder,  and  the  dons  turned  round  and  looked  down  the 
hall  from  their  seats  at  the  high  tables.  Then  Piper 
went  to  his  place,  the  noise  ceased  and  the  dons,  reas- 
sured, turned  to  their  dinner.  But  there  were  ominous 
whisperings  and  glances  at  the  table  where  Piper  sat, 
and  like  signs  at  the  table  of  the  boating  men  nearer 
the  door.  The  latter  finished  their  dinner  early  and 
went  out  in  a  body.  When  they  had  got  outside  the 
door  they  waited  by  the  college  screens.  Men  who  be- 
longed to  neither  faction  dropping  out  of  hall  one  by 
one,  looked  with  surprise  at  such  an  unexpected  gather- 
ing, and  passed  on.  Some  of  them  waited  outside  to 
see  what  would  happen.  Before  very  long  Piper  came 
out,   immediately   followed   by   Howden    and   the   rest. 


168  PETER  BINNEY 

He  looked  black  when  he  saw  the  waiting  crowd,  and 
tiien  there  was  a  curious  pause.  Bodily  violence  be- 
tween fellow-undergraduates  is  a  rare  thing  unless  aris- 
ing spontaneously  from  chance  collisions  of  opposing 
factions.  In  this  case  there  was  plenty  of  bad  feeling, 
but  no  hot  blood  at  present,  and  although  both  sides 
were  eager  for  a  quarrel,  nobody  quite  knew  how  to 
begin  it.  After  a  moment's  pause  Piper  went  on  to- 
wards the  steps  leading  down  to  Neville's  Court.  He 
looked  a  very  ugly  customer.  Although  Lucius  had  not 
succeeded  in  doing  him  a  fraction  of  the  damage  which 
he  himself  had  received,  Piper  had  not  got  off  quite  un- 
marked. He  had  a  black  eye  and  a  swollen  cheek  bone. 
His  temper  was  up,  too,  and  he  was  probably  nearer 
the  state  of  mind  when  a  fight  is  a  relief  than  any  one 
there. 

"  Ugly  bruiser !  "  remarked  Tait  as  he  passed. 
Piper  faced  him  instantly.     "  What's  that,  sir !  '*  he 
asked  angrily. 

"  I  said  you  were  an  ugly  bruiser,  sir." 
Piper  aimed  a  savage  blow  at  him  before  the  words 
were  well  out  of  his  mouth.  Tait  had  just  time  to 
parry  it.  There  was  no  need  for  any  further  intro- 
duction. Exactly  where  they  were,  with  startled  wait- 
ers going  to  and  fro  from  the  kitchens  to  the  hall,  and 
the  intermittent  stream  of  undergraduates  passing 
through,  the  two  parties  fell  upon  one  another,  and  the 
noise  of  the  combat  rose  above  the  clatter  of  plates 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  "       169 

and  the  muffled  swinging  of  the  heavy  doors,  and  reached 
the  dons  on  the  dais  at  the  other  end  of  the  hall.  "  Put 
him  in  the  fountain,"  shouted  Mirrilees,  and  the  strug- 
gling mass  surged  slowly  out  of  the  doorway  and  down 
the  shallow  flight  of  steps  into  the  Great  Court.  Blood 
was  up  now  and  there  was  no  lack  of  sincerity  in  the 
blows  that  were  given  and  taken.  Little  groups  of 
disinterested  spectators  looked  on  at  the  strange  spec- 
tacle of  men  of  the  same  college,  most  of  them  well 
known  throughout  the  University  for  their  prowess  in 
different  branches  of  sport,  fighting  fiercely,  and  grad- 
ually drawing  nearer  to  the  great  stone  fountain  which 
rears  its  stately  mass  from  one  of  the  grass  plots.  The 
boating  men  had  a  slight  advantage  in  numbers,  but 
the  footballers  were,  with  some  few  exceptions,  a  heavier 
lot,  and  progress  was  slow.  Piper  fought  savagely  and 
disabled  one  or  two  of  the  men  who  were  dragging  him 
along,  while  his  friends  were  mostly  engaged  in  a  series 
of  single  combats  round  him.  There  is  no  knowing  how 
the  battle  would  have  ended.  In  spite  of  their  slightly 
superior  force  it  is  doubtful  whether  Mirrilees's  and 
Tait's  party  could  have  succeeded  in  inflicting  the  pun- 
ishment on  Piper  which  they  intended.  But  before 
they  reached  the  fountain  a  little  party  of  dons  who 
had  been  apprised  of  what  was  going  on  came  running 
down  the  steps  of  the  hall  towards  the  struggling  and 
swaying  mass.  They  were  led  by  the  Senior  Dean. 
"  Stop  this,  gentlemen,  stop  this,"  he  shouted,  as  he 


170  PETER  BINNEY 

reached  them.  A  few  of  them  stopped  irresolutely. 
The  rest  paid  no  attention  to  the  order.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  they  heard  it.  The  Senior  Dean,  who  was  a  man 
of  resolution,  threw  himself  among  them,  followed  by 
one  or  two  of  his  companions.  At  first  there  was  no 
result,  except  that  dons  and  undergraduates  were  mixed 
up  together  in  one  general  melee.  But  gradually  the 
voice  and  energetic  action  of  authority  began  to  tell. 
First  one  left  off  fighting  and  then  another,  until  Piper 
and  the  men  who  had  got  hold  of  him  were  the  only 
ones  still  left.  Deprived  of  the  assistance  of  his 
backers,  Piper  was  carried  with  a  little  run  right  up  to 
the  steps  of  the  fountain,  but  there  the  Dean  and  a 
few  stalwart  Fellows  who  were  helping  him  managed 
to  stop  them  by  sheer  force,  and  the  fight  ceased,  leav- 
ing a  dishevelled  panting  crowd  of  combatants  facing 
one  another,  with  the  stern  figure  of  judicial  vengeance 
master  of  the  field.  Names  were  taken,  orders  given, 
and  the  crowd  slowly  dispersed.  The  boating  men  held 
the  conviction  that  if  they  had  been  left  alone  they 
would  have  done  what  they  meant  to  do  and  avenged 
the  defeat  Piper  had  administered  to  Lucius.  At  any 
rate  they  had  given  him  a  lesson  which  he  wouldn't  for- 
get in  a  hurry.  The  football  men  made  a  great  deal 
of  the  fact  that  they  had  been  overpowered  by  superior 
numbers.  They  were  also  greatly  cheered  by  the  con- 
viction that  they  had  given  their  opponents  something 
that  they  wouldn't  forget  in  a  hurry. 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  "       171 

The  sequel  to  the  fracas  was  rather  curious.  It  re- 
sulted in  an  entire  healing  up  of  the  feud  that  had 
arisen,  no  one  quite  knew  how,  for  it  dated  from  before 
the  issue  of  the  New  Court  Chronicle.  These  quarrels 
between  two  sets  of  men  are  rare  in  the  University, 
but  they  sometimes  arise  and  continue  for  a  year  or  so 
and  then  die  away.  This  one  would  have  disappeared 
slowly  in  due  course,  because  no  two  sets  of  men  can  be 
said  to  be  absolutely  clear  and  distinct  one  from  an- 
other, but  are  merged  at  some  points  by  friendships 
between  their  respective  members.  But,  the  matter 
having  been  brought  to  a  head  by  the  quarrel  between 
Lucius  and  Piper,  and  the  bad  blood  let  off,  the  ill- 
feeling  disappeared  as  if  by  magic,  and  men  who  had 
fought  with  one  another  on  that  night  by  the  fountain 
might  have  been  seen  in  one  another's  rooms  later  on 
in  the  term  the  best  of  friends. 

There  was  one  exception  to  the  general  amicability. 
Piper,  who  was  an  evil-tempered  fellow,  emerged  from 
the  tussle  in  a  black  rage,  and  continued  in  it  for  much 
longer  than  a  normally  constituted  man  would  have 
found  such  a  state  of  mind  possible. 

The  Senior  Dean  being  wise  in  his  generation,  and 
having  a  fairly  shrewd  idea  as  to  how  the  unseemly 
fracas  had  arisen,  and  what  was  likely  to  be  its  result, 
dealt  lightly  with  the  offenders.  There  were  a  good 
many  official  interviews  and  a  few  "  gates,"  and  then 
the  matter  was  allowed  to  drop.     None  of  the  com- 


172  TETEH  BINNEY 

batants  actually  told  liini  in  so  many  words  what  had 
been  the  immediate  origin  of  the  fray,  but  Mr.  Binney 
having  discovered  the  day  after  that  Piper  was  more 
determined  than  ever  to  continue  the  publication  of  his 
paper,  had  paid  an  early  visit  to  the  Dean  and  asked 
liim  to  suppress  it  officially.  He  had  brought  the  term's 
numbers  already  issued  with  him,  and  the  Dean  gravely 
perused  the  "  Binney  Correspondence  "  then  and  there, 
while  the  object  of  it  sat  uneasily  before  him  watching 
his  face. 

"  I  don't  defend  this,  Mr.  Binney,"  said  the  Dean, 
laying  down  the  papers  on  his  table  when  he  had  finished 
them.  "  A  great  deal  of  it  is  very  offensive.  But,  you 
know,  you've  got  yourself  to  thank  for  most  of  it. 

"  I  know — I  know,"  said  poor  little  Mr.  Binney, 
whose  cock-surcness  in  his  treatment  of  Deans  and 
Tutors  had  been  considerably  reduced  of  late.  "  A 
good  deal  of  it  might  fairly  have  been  said  of  me  last 
term.  But  it  isn't  true  of  me  now.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  dinner  in  my  rooms  on  the  second  night  of  the 
term,  after  which  occurred  some  insubordination  for 
which  I  was  not  responsible,  nothing  of  the  sort  men- 
tioned here  has  happened.  I  have  boon  one  of  the 
quietest  men  in  the  college.  It  is  my  fixed  intention  to 
bring  an  action  for  lii)el  against  this  man  Piper,"  he 
continued,  with  a  slight  return  to  his  former  manner, 
*'  if  this  goes  on,  and  if  you  don't  see  your  way  of  stop- 
ping it,  sir.     It  is  intolerable." 


"  PUT  HIM  IN  THE  FOUNTAIN  "       173 

"  You  will  not  find  it  necessary  to  do  that,  Mr.  Bin- 
ney,"  said  the  Dean.  "  I  will  see  that  it  is  stopped. 
You  had  better  leave  these  papers  with  me." 

It  did  not  add  to  Piper's  amiability  when  it  came  to 
his  turn  to  be  interviewed,  to  be  told  by  the  Dean  that 
he  had  perused  several  numbers  of  the  New  Court 
Chronicle,  and  that  it  was  about  time  that  publication 
came  to  an  end.  He  allowed  Piper  to  argue  the  point, 
but  when  he  found  that  they  were  no  nearer  an  agree- 
ment on  it  than  before,  he  told  him  peremptorily  that 
he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  the  paper  should  be 
stopped,  and  stopped  it  must  be.  He  pointed  out  sev- 
eral offensive  articles  aimed  at  the  authorities  of  the 
University  and  Colleges,  and  alluded  very  little  to  the 
*'  Binney  Correspondence,"  and  finally  found  it  neces- 
sary to  tell  Mr.  Piper  that  he  might  choose  between 
publishing  another  number  of  the  paper  and  remaining 
at  Cambridge. 

So  the  New  Court  Chronicle  came  to  an  end,  and 
neither  Mr.  Binney  nor  Lucius  suffered  any  further  an- 
noyances from  the  printed  expression  of  Piper's  malice. 
The  effects  of  the  hitherto  published  instalments  of  the 
"  Binney  Correspondence,"  however,  did  not  end  there 
as  far  as  Mr.  Binney  was  concerned,  as  will  afterwards 
appear. 


CHAPTER  XII 

LUCIUS  MAKES  ONE  DISCOVERY  AND  MES.  TOLLER  ANOTHER 

Lucius  was  out  and  about  again,  not  much  the  worse 
for  his  late  encounter,  by  the  time  Tuesday  came  round, 
when  he  was  to  lunch  with  his  cousin.  He  was  in  fairly 
good  spirits  as  he  walked  down  the  King's  Parade  and 
Silver  Street,  towards  the  ancient  pile  of  Queens*  Col- 
lege. He  and  his  father  were  better  friends  than  they 
had  been  any  time  since  Mr.  Binney  had  come  into  resi- 
dence at  Cambridge.  Mr.  Binney  now  comported  him- 
self with  the  dignity  that  befitted  his  years,  and  no 
longer  made  his  son's  life  a  burden  to  him  by  those 
continued  indiscretions  which  had  brought  shame  and 
confusion  of  face  to  Lucius  in  the  past.  He  had  re- 
stored his  full  allowance,  and  Lucius  was  better  off  in 
pocket  than  he  had  been  since  Mr.  Binney  had  come  up. 
And  then  the  Newnham  girl,  to  whom  somehow  he 
seemed  to  be  getting  nearer,  now  that  he  had  discovered 
that  she  and  his  cousin  were  fellow-students,  had  dis- 
tinctly given  him  a  glance  of  recognition  when  he  had 
seen  her  in  King's  Chapel  on  the  previous  Sunday.  It 
was  not  much  to  pride  himself  on,  certainly,  but  such 
as  it  was  he  had  hugged  the  thought  of  it  ever  since. 

She  had  been  sitting  with  some  other  girls  in  the  front 

174 


LUCIUS  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY  175 

row  of  seats  as  Lucius  walked  up  the  chapel,  and  he  had 
taken  particular  notice  of  those  other  girls  when  he 
had  manoeuvred  himself  into  a  seat  opposite  her,  in  case 
one  of  them  should  turn  out  to  be  his  cousin. 

John  Jermyn  kept  in  a  charming  set  of  oak-panelled 
rooms  over-looking  the  river. 

There  was  an  elderly  lady  sitting  in  the  window  seat 
as  Lucius  entered,  who  rose  to  greet  him.  She  was 
tall  and  graceful,  with  a  sweet  face  and  grey  hair. 

"  You  are  very  like  your  dear  mother,"  she  said,  her 
eyes  growing  a  little  moist  as  she  looked  at  him.  "  We 
used  to  be  great  friends  in  days  gone  by,  but  that  is 
twenty  years  ago  now." 

Lucius  sat  and  talked  to  her  in  the  window  seat, 
while  John  Jermyn  wandered  about  the  room  with  his 
hands  in  his  pockets  casting  impatient  glances  at  the 
clock  on  the  mantelpiece  and  the  lunch  on  the  table. 
"  Betty  is  late,"  he  said.  "  I  told  her  half-past  one, 
and  it  is  getting  on  for  a  quarter  to  two." 

"  We  had  better  not  wait  any  longer,"  said  Mrs. 
Jermyn,  rising.  But  just  then  light  steps  were  heard 
on  the  staircase,  the  door  opened,  and  disclosed  to 
Lucius's  astonished  gaze  the  form  and  features  of  the 
Newnham  girl. 

Miss  Betty  Jermyn  came  forward,  rosy  and  a  little 
out  of  breath,  with  murmured  apologies,  kissed  her 
mother  and  her  brother,  and  then  waited  with  a  deepen- 
ing blush  and  a  mischievous  light  in  her  eyes,  to  be  in- 


176  PETER  BINNEY 

troduced  to  Lucius,  for  whom  the  low  dark  room  seemed 
suddenly  to  have  become  filled  with  brilliant  sunshine. 

"  This  is  your  cousin  Lucius,  Betty,"  said  Mrs.  Jer- 
myn,  sind  the  two  shook  hands,  but  found  no  words  with 
whicii  to  address  one  another. 

In  the  course  of  luncheon  it  came  out  in  the  most 
natural  way  that  Betty  and  Lucius  had  attended  the 
same  lecture  in  Trinity  College  all  last  term,  and  re- 
membered one  another  perfectly. 

"  But  you  must  have  known  who  I  was,"  said  Lucius, 
a  sudden  light  breaking  in  on  him,  as  he  remembered 
those  little  glances  of  amusement  which  had  so  thrilled 
his  soul  last  term.  "  Gandey  always  used  to  read  out 
our  names  after  the  lecture." 

"  Yes,  I  knew  who  you  were,"  said  Betty,  with  a  little 
laugh.  "  And  I  wondered  how  long  it  would  be  before 
you  knew  who  /  was." 

Lucius  felt  that  when  he  was  alone  again  he  would 
be  very  angry  with  himself  for  not  having  cultivated 
the  society  of  his  cousin  John  more  assiduously,  and 
also  for  having  refused  Mrs.  Jermyn's  invitation  to 
stay  with  them  in  the  Christmas  vacation,  but  at  pres- 
ent he  was  so  happy  that  there  was  no  room  for  regrets. 

It  was  quite  apparent  to  the  maternal  eyes  of  Mrs. 
Jermyn  before  lunch  was  half  over  that  this  nice  boy 
with  his  mother's  eyes  was  head  over  ears  in  love  with 
her  pretty  little  daughter,  whom  she  still  looked  upon 
as  a  child,  in  spite  of  the  dignity  conferred  upon  her 


LUCIUS  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY         177 

by  a  scholarship  at  Newnham.  Her  son,  of  course,  saw 
nothing  of  the  sort,  but  he  was  pleased  to  find  that  his 
cousin,  who  was  something  of  a  hero  in  his  eyes,  seemed 
to  have  taken  a  fancy  to  his  sister,  whom  he  found  it 
constantly  necessary  to  keep  in  her  place.  He  was 
afraid  that  Betty  would  never  learn  to  show  reverence 
where  reverence  was  due,  but  it  was  a  relief  to  find 
that  Lucius  apparently  did  not  take  her  little  audaci- 
ties amiss,  and  indeed  seemed  to  be  even  amused  by 
them.  What  Mrs.  Jermyn  thought,  it  would  not  be- 
come us  to  disclose,  but  she  accepted  Lucius's  invitation 
for  the  whole  party  to  lunch  with  him  on  the  next  day, 
and  her  cordiality  towards  him  had  suffered  no  diminu- 
tion when  they  parted. 

It  was  curious  that  Mr.  Binney's  name  was  not  once 
mentioned  between  them.  John  Jermyn  had  given  his 
mother  a  rather  highly  coloured  account  of  our  hero's 
peccadillos,  and  Betty  had  added  her  little  comments, 
for  the  fame  of  Mr.  Binney's  exploits  had  penetrated 
even  the  walls  of  Newnham  College, 

"  Oh,  mother,"  she  had  said,  "  you  really  can't  have 
anything  to  do  with  cousin  Peter.  He  is  a  horrid  little 
man  and  leads  Lucius  such  a  life,  so  everybody  says. 
And  Lucius  is  so  popular  with  all  the  men.  It  is  a 
great  shame." 

"  I  never  cared  for  Mr.  Binney  very  much,"  said 
Mrs.  Jermyn,  "  but  I  should  like  you  to  ask  Lucius  to 
meet  us,  John.     I  should  like  to  see  dear  Lucy's  boy, 


178  PETER  BINNEY 

althou<(li  I  saw  very  little  of  her  after  her  marriage." 

So  Lucius  had  come,  been  seen  and  had  conquered, 
and  went  away  again  full  of  delighted  wonder  at  the 
surprising  thing  that  had  happened.  His  first  desire 
was  to  find  the  sympathetic  Dizzy  and  impart  to  him 
the  astounding  news.  He  tracked  him  down  at  the 
racquet  courts  and  brought  him  away  when  he  had 
finished  his  game. 

"  I  say,  old  man,"  he  said  in  as  calm  a  tone  as  he 
could  muster,  "  I've  found  out  the  name  of  that  girl  at 
last.     What  do  you  think  it  is  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  said  Dizzy,  who  had  lost  his 
match,  and  was  as  nearly  inclined  to  pessimism  as  was 
consistent  with  his  equable  nature.  "  Henrietta,  I 
should  think,  or  Lulu,  or  Kate.  Parents  haven't  any 
taste  nowadays.  Look  at  mine  christening  me  Benja- 
min. Stubbs  is  bad  enough,  but  Benjamin!  'Pon  my 
word  I  sometimes  feel  inclined  to  get  it  changed  by  Act 
of  Parliament." 

"  Her  name  is  Elizabeth  J " 

"  Yes,  it  would  be,"  interrupted  Dizzy.  "  Elizabeth 
Jones.  Just  what  I  said.  Well,  what  are  you  going 
to  do  about  it?  " 

"  I  didn't  say  Elizabeth  Jones,"  said  Lucius.  "  Eliz- 
abeth is  a  very  pretty  name,  especially  when  it's  short- 
ened to  Betty.      Her  surname  isn't  Jones,  it's  Jermyn." 

"Oh,  is  it?  Well,  I'm  not  so  sure  thui— what! 
Jermyn!!     You  don't  mean  to  say ?" 


LUCIUS  MAIOES  A  DISCOVERY  179 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  Lucius  triumphantly.  "  That  very 
girl  is  my  cousin  at  Newnham,  and  no  other." 

"  Well,  I'm  blowed  !  "  exclaimed  Dizzy.  "  But  there, 
Lucy,  I  always  told  you  if  you'd  only  take  the  trouble 
to  hunt  your  cousin  down,  or  rather  up,  she'd  turn  out 
to  be  a  topper.  And  I  was  right.  When  are  you  going 
to  have  her  to  tea,?  " 

"  She's  coming  to  lunch  to-morrow,"  said  Lucius. 

"  I'm  engaged  to-morrow,  I'm  afraid,"  said  Dizzy. 
*'  Going  to  lunch  with  Blathgowrie.  I  dare  say  I  could 
get  off  it,  though." 

"  You  needn't  try,"  said  Lucius ;  "  but  I'll  get  her 
to  tea  some  day  soon,  before  her  mother  goes  away, 
and  then  you  can  come.  Oh,  my  goodness !  What  a 
chance  for  a  fellow!  to  be  head  over  ears  in  love  with 
a  girl,  and  think  he's  never  going  to  get  to  know  her, 
and  then  for  her  to  turn  out  to  be  his  own  cousin 
after  all." 

"Did  she  say  anything  about  me?  "  inquired  Dizzy. 

"About  you?     No.     Why  should  she?" 

"  Why  shouldn't  she,  you  mean.  I'm  a  very  striking 
looking  feller.  She  must  have  noticed  me  in  the  lecture- 
room  last  term." 

"  You  needn't  trouble  yourself  that  she'll  waste  many 
thoughts  on  you." 

"  Oh,  all  right,  old  man.  Keep  your  wool  on.  Now, 
don't  forget  to  ask  me  to  tea  one  of  these  days.  I  won't 
try  and  cut  you  out;  you  can  rely  on  me." 


180  PETER  BINNEY 

The  remainder  of  that  week  passed  like  a  happy 
dream  to  Lucius.  lie  managed  to  spend  some  time 
every  day  with  his  cousins,  found  his  way  right  inside 
Mrs.  Jermyn's  heart,  and  seemed  to  make  very  good 
headway  up  to  a  certain  point  with  Betty.  That  is  to 
say,  they  became  excellent  friends,  and  were  on  per- 
fectly familiar  terms,  but  at  the  end  of  the  week  he  was 
no  nearer  knowing  whether  she  reciprocated  his  ad- 
miration than  at  the  beginning,  for  beyond  a  certain 
point  lie  was  never  allowed  to  go.  When  Saturday 
came,  Mrs.  Jermyn  went  away  and  left  Lucius  deso- 
lated. But  she  had  already  asked  him  to  stay  with 
them  in  Norfolk  during  the  Easter  vacation,  and  he 
was  left  in  by  no  means  such  a  state  of  hopeless  longing 
as  before,  for  he  managed  to  meet  his  cousin  pretty 
often  during  the  rest  of  the  term,  and  although  he  was 
never  allowed  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  her  company  for 
very  long,  she  seldom  met  him  without  a  few  words  of 
conversation  passing  between  them,  which  gave  Lucius 
something  to  live  for  now  that  the  University  boat  had 
gone  to  Putney  and  left  him  behind  in  Cambridge. 

Mrs.  Jermyn  had  not  been  able  to  avoid  Mr.  Binney 
altogether  during  her  stay  at  Cambridge.  She  thought 
that  she  ought  to  see  something  of  him  now  that  his 
son  seemed  likely  to  become  an  intimate  friend  in  her 
family.  Accordingly  Mr.  Binney  was  notified  of  her 
arrival,  and  called  on  her  at  the  "  Bull  "  where  she  was 
staying.     Mr.  Binney  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the 


LUCIUS  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY         181 

events  narrated  In  the  last  two  chapters,  and  was  in  a 
depressed  and  dull  state  of  mind.  He  quite  forgot  to 
patronize  Mrs.  Jermyn  on  the  fact  of  her  son  being  a 
scholar  of  Queens'  College,  while  he  was  a  pensioner  of 
Trinity,  as  he  certainly  would  have  done  a  few  months 
before.  Mrs.  Jermyn  talked  chiefly  about  his  wife,  and 
Mr.  Binney,  who  had  been  a  widower  for  fifteen  years, 
and  had  set  up  the  image  of  Mrs.  Higginbotham  in  the 
niche  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Lucius's  mother,  fol- 
lowed her  lead  with  some  uneasiness  of  mind.  There 
was  no  warmth  of  feeling  between  them,  and  each  was 
mutually  relieved  when  Mr.  Binney  rose  to  take  his 
leave.  He  apologised  for  not  asking  his  cousins  to 
lunch,  but  explained  that  he  had  to  be  down  on  the 
river  early  every  afternoon,  and  Mrs.  Jermyn  was  not 
sorry  that  the  invitation  was  not  given. 

Mr.  Binney,  of  course,  still  corresponded  regularly 
with  Mrs.  Higginbotham.  He  had  refrained  from  send- 
ing her  the  iSlew  Court  Chronicle,  or,  indeed,  from  men- 
tioning that  feature  of  it  which  most  nearly  concerned 
him,  for  some  slight  sense  of  dignity,  which  he  had 
appeared  to  have  relinquished  during  the  Michaelmas 
term,  had  returned  to  him,  and  he  was  not  anxious  to 
have  it  known  that  he  was  treated  with  ridicule.  He 
wrote  about  his  work  and  about  the  prospects  of  the 
First  Trinity  first  Lent  boat,  and  if  his  letter  did  be- 
token a  depression  of  spirits,  the  tender  Mrs.  Higgin- 
botham put  this  down  to  his  separation  from  her  and 


182  PETER  BINNEY 

threw  a  wealth  of  affection  and  sympathy  into  her  re- 
plies, which  greatly  consoled  Mr.  liinney  during  his 
trying  time.  She  also  expressed  herself  delighted  with 
the  improvement  in  conduct  displayed  by  her  under- 
graduate lover,  for,  although  Mrs.  Iligginhotham  liked 
to  read  stories  of  youthful  daring  and  devilry,  when 
theory  resolved  itself  into  practice  her  mind  recoiled 
affrighted.  Mr.  Binney  was  fond  of  imager^',  and  he 
often  assured  Mrs.  Higginhotham  at  this  time  that  her 
love  and  confidence  in  him  was  the  rock  to  wjiich  he 
clung  while  the  waves  of  adversity  buffeted  him ;  it  was 
also  an  anchor,  and  a  port,  and  a  city  of  refuge ;  a  ray 
of  sunshine,  a  star,  a  beacon,  a  lantern;  a  refreshing 
fountain,  an  oasis  in  the  desert,  a  cup  of  cold  water;  a 
buckler,  and  a  good  many  other  things.  Mrs.  Higgin- 
hotham made  no  attempt  to  discover  what  the  waves 
of  adversity  were  that  were  reported  to  be  buffeting  Mr. 
Binney.  She  liked  his  poetical  method  of  expressing 
himself;  she  said  it  made  her  feel  warm  all  over,  and 
there  she  let  the  matter  rest. 

But  there  was  a  serpent  in  this  garden  of  mutual 
esteem.  If  Mrs.  Higginhotham  did  not  read  the  New 
Court  Chronicle  and  was  ignorant  of  the  dreadful  things 
that  were  being  said  about  her  Peter,  there  was  some- 
one else  who  was  fully  acquainted  with  them. 

The  day  after  Mr.  Binney's  dinner-party  in  Russell 
Square,  Mrs.  Toller  called  upon  Mrs.  Higginhotham, 
as    she   had    announced    her   intention    of   doing.     She 


LUCIUS  ]VIAKES  A  DISCOVERY  183 

waited  for  ten  minutes  alone  in  the  drawing-room  be- 
fore Mrs.  Higginbotham  made  her  appearance.  The 
first  three  or  four  she  spent  in  refreshing  her  memory 
of  the  contents  of  the  room.  Then,  growing  bolder, 
she  inspected  the  contents  of  Mrs.  Higginbotham's 
Davenport  writing-table,  without,  however,  discovering 
anything  that  interested  her.  Thinking  she  heard  a 
step  on  the  stair  she  seated  herself  quickly  beside  the 
fire  and  snatched  up  a  paper  from  the  little  table  by  her 
side.  Nobody  came,  and  Mrs.  Toller  then  turning  over 
the  little  pile  of  periodicals,  lighted  upon  the  creased 
copy  of  the  New  Court  Chronicle  which  Mr.  Binney  had 
posted  from  Cambridge. 

"  Well !  upon  my  word ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Toller 
to  herself  when  she  had  perused  the  paragraph  in 
"  Madge's  Letter "  already  referred  to.  She  then 
turned  to  the  title  page  of  the  paper  and  made  a  note 
of  the  publisher's  address  on  the  little  ivory  tablet  she 
carried  in  her  purse.  When  she  had  done  that  she 
heard  Mrs.  Higginbotham  approaching,  so,  hastily 
burying  the  New  Court  Chronicle  under  the  pile  and 
taking  up  The  Christian  World  instead,  she  affected  to 
be  so  deeply  interested  in  its  varied  contents  as  to  be 
unaware  of  Mrs.  Higginbotham's  approach  until  that 
good  lady  had  closed  the  door  behind  her  and  begun  to 
make  apologies  for  her  delay,  which  had  arisen  through 
the  arrival  of  a  dressmaker  to  "  try  on." 

When  Cambridge  University  had  once  more  got  into 


184  PETER  BINNEY 

the  swing  of  term  time,  there  appeared  every  Monday 
morning  among  Mrs.  Toller's  correspondence  a  wrap- 
per enclosing  a  paper  directed  from  that  ancient  seat 
of  learning.  Mrs.  Toller  always  secreted  this  and 
opened  it  after  breakfast  when  the  Doctor  had  retired 
to  his  study,  for  her  subscription  to  the  New  Court 
Chronicle  cost  her  sixpence  halfpenny  a  week,  which  was 
more  than  the  good  Doctor  paid  for  having  the  Daily 
Chronicle  served  up  hot  with  his  breakfast  every  morn- 
ing. University  journalism  is  not  apt  to  afford  great 
entertainment  to  people  outside  the  University  where  it 
is  practised,  but  Mrs.  Toller,  although  a  woman  of 
economical  habits,  counted  the  information  which  she 
derived  from  the  New  Court  Chronicle  cheap  at  the 
price  which  she  paid  for  her  subscription,  and  looked 
forward  keenly  to  the  budget  of  news  which  arrived  for 
her  every  Monday  morning. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Mrs.  Toller  intended  to 
keep  her  information  from  her  excellent  husband ;  she 
was  far  too  good  a  wife  for  that.  What  she  meant  to 
do  was  to  keep  the  New  Court  Chronicle  to  herself 
until  the  end  of  the  term,  in  order  that  Mr.  Binney's 
infamies  might  heap  themselves  up  until  she  had  a  good 
budget  of  scandal  to  lay  before  the  Doctor.  The  game 
went  merrily  on  for  four  or  five  weeks  and  there  was 
matter  of  offence  against  Mr.  Binney  enough  to  have 
brought  down  upon  him  the  wrath  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation of  which  he  was  so  distinguished  a  member. 


LUCIUS  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY  1S5 

But  Mrs.  Toller's  appetite,  whetted  by  the  disclosure 
she  had  already  surprised,  thirsted  for  more.  More 
she  would  have  had,  for  Mr.  Piper  had  got  his  hand 
thoroughly  in,  but,  as  we  know,  the  New  Court  Chronicle 
had  come  to  an  untimely  end,  and  great  was  Mrs. 
Toller's  disappointment  when  she  received,  one  Monday 
morning,  instead  of  the  journal  she  had  so  looked  for- 
ward to  during  the  whole  of  the  Sunday's  religious  exer- 
cises, a  letter  from  the  publisher  informing  her  that 
the  publication  had  ceased,  and  that  he  begged  to  re- 
turn to  her  the  remainder  of  the  term's  subscription. 
However,  there  was  quite  enough  upon  which  to 
act. 

The  Doctor  retired  to  his  study  as  usual  after  break- 
fast. Mrs.  Toller  got  her  daughter  out  of  the  way, 
produced  the  numbers  she  had  already  received,  and 
refreshed  her  memory  of  the  whole  of  the  "  Binney  Cor- 
respondence." Then  she  sought  her  husband,  who  was 
taking  a  well-earned  rest  after  his  Sabbath  labours  over 
a  novel,  which  he  hastily  secreted  upon  the  entrance  of 
his  wife. 

"What's  that  you're  reading,  Samuel?"  said  Mrs. 
Toller.  "  I  shouldn't  waste  my  time  over  that  trash  if 
I  were  you.  I've  got  an  important  matter  to  talk  to 
you  about." 

Dr.  Toller  breathed  a  sigh  of  resignation.  He  knew 
those  important  matters.  If  they  were  not  complaints 
^f  the  behaviour  of  various  members  of  his  congrega- 


186  PETER  BINNEY 

tlon,  thcj  were  generally  household  matters  which  Mrs. 
Toller  could  very  well  have  settled  for  herself. 

"  You  know  how  deep  an  interest  I  take  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  church,"  began  Mrs.  Toller,  seating  herself 
in  the  easy  chair  by  the  side  of  the  fire. 

Dr.  Toller  knew  only  too  well.  "  Yes,  ray  dear,  cer- 
tainly'," he  said. 

"  I  should  be  very  sorry,"  pursued  Mrs.  Toller,  "  if 
any  scandal  occurred  through  the  behaviour  of  one  of 
our  most  prominent  members,  especially  when  he  hap- 
pens to  be  a  deacon." 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  interrupted  Dr.  Toller  hastily,  "  but 
I  think  that  is  hardly  likely  to  happen.  All  our 
deacons  are  men  of  irreproachable  character." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,"  said  Mrs.  Toller. 
"  There  is  one  of  them  who  seems  to  be  rapidly  treading 
the  broad  road,  and  if  he  is  not  very  sharply  pulled 
up,  I  tremble  to  think  of  the  catastrophe  that  may 


occur." 


"  Oh,  nonsense,  my  dear,"  said  Dr.  Toller.  "  You 
must  surely  be  exaggerating.  There  is  an  occasional 
tendency  towards  undue  interference  on  the  part  of  our 
officers,  who  are  some  of  them  men  of  more  money  than 
brains,  although  I  wouldn't  for  the  world  have  it  known 
that  I  said  so.  But  I  have  no  reason  to  dread  any- 
thing worse  than  that.  You  have  got  hold  of  some 
trivial  matter  and  are  magnifying  it  in  your  mind — 
quite  unintentionally,   I   am   sure,"   he   added  hastily. 


LUCIUS  MAKES  A  DISCOVERY         187 

observing  the  ominous  stiffening  of  Mrs.  Toller's  upper 
lip,  "  and  with  the  best  of  intentions,  I  am  sure." 

"  I  am  not  aware,"  said  Mrs.  Toller,  drawing  herself 
up,  "  that  drunkenness  is  a  trivial  matter,  Samuel,  or 
revelry.  If  it  is  so,  I  have  misread  the  meaning  of 
Scripture,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  be  corrected." 

"  Of  course,  my  dear,"  said  Dr.  Toller,  "  such  things 
are  very  dreadful,  but  you  have  surely  no  reason  to 
charge  one  of  our  deacons  with  such — er — crimes." 

"  Read  the  passages  I  have  marked  with  blue  pencil 
in  these  papers,"  said  Mrs.  Toller,  rising  and  handing 
the  doctor  her  little  bundle  of  ephemeral  journalism. 
"  And  then  say  if  you  can  justly  accuse  me  of  exaggera- 
tion, which  I  beg  to  say  is  not  a  habit  of  mine.  I  will 
leave  you  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  and  then  return." 

When  Mrs.  Toller  did  return  she  found  the  Doctor 
chuckling  over  some  of  the  humorous  sallies  of  Mr. 
Piper's  young  lions. 

"  Samuel !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  is  that  the  fashion  in 
which  you  treat  a  serious  matter  like  this.''  Such  ill- 
timed  levity  is  surely  out  of  place." 

"  Quite  so,  my  dear,  quite  so,"  said  her  husband,  his 
face  instantly  becoming  serious.  "  I  was  not  laughing 
at  the  news  about  Mr.  Binney,  which  I  finished  perusing 
some  time  ago.  Some  of  these  young  men  are  very 
clever.  But  really,  with  regard  to  Mr.  Binney,  I  fully 
share  your  feeling,  my  dear.  Mr.  Binney  has  always 
been  rather  erratic,  curiously  so  for  a  man  of  his  years 


188  TETER  BIXNEY 

and  position,  but  I  could  never  have  believed  that  this 
sort  of  thing  would  happen.  I — I — hardly  know  what 
to  say  about  it.  But  how  did  you  get  hold  of  these 
papers  ?  " 

"  Never  mind  that,"  said  Mrs.  Toller  firmly.  "  We 
must  act,   and   act  promptly  so   as   to  save  scandal." 

Dr.  Toller  disliked  acting  at  all  on  Monday  morning, 
but  he  saw  that  his  wife  was  not  to  be  trifled  with,  and 
said,  "  Certainly.  Yes.  I  quite  agree  with  you.  What 
shall  I  do.?" 

"  You  must  go  up  to  Cambridge  instantly,  and 
remonstrate  with  the  misguided  man." 

Dr.  Toller  looked  blank.  "  Do  you  think  that  is 
necessary?  "  he  asked.  "  I  should  have  thought  a  letter 
would  have  answered  the  purpose." 

"Not  at  all,"  said  Mrs.  Toller.  "Mr.  Binney  is 
in  that  state  of  mind  in  which  he  would  take  no  notice 
of  a  letter.  Severe  expostulation  and  ghostly  advice 
are  what  he  wants.  He  must  be  checked  in  his  profli- 
gate career  at  all  costs,  or  worse  may  come  of  it.  I 
should  go  with  you,  but  I  have  my  mothers'  meeting 
this  afternoon,  and  I  am  not  one  to  neglect  my  duty." 

"  But,  surely,  my  dear,"  exclaimed  the  Doctor,  "  you 
would  not  wish  me  to  go  to  Cambridge  to-day?  " 

"  Certainly  I  should,"  replied  Mrs.  Toller.  "  Why 
procrastinate?  And  yet,  I  don't  know.  To-morrow 
perhaps  I  could  accompany  you.  Perhaps  there  is  no 
necessity.' 


J5 


LUCIUS  AL\KES  A  DISCOVERY  189 

"  If  it  has  to  be  done,"  said  Dr.  Toller,  "  perhaps 
it  had  better  be  done  to-day.  It  is  not  a  pleasant 
business,  but  I  agree  with  you  that  the  gravity  of  the 
occasion  demands  immediate  action,  and  I  shall  not 
shrink  from  taking  it.  I  am  really  astounded  at  the 
disclosures  made  in  these  papers.  If  the  extraordinary 
course  Mr.  Binney  appears  to  have  taken  were  to  come 
to  the  ears  of  the  church  committee,  I  don't  know  what 
would  happen.  I  will  go  to  Cambridge  after  the  ladies' 
Bible  class  this  afternoon,  and  I  think  I  will  stay  the 
night,  my  dear.  I  should  like  to  have  a  look  round  the 
colleges,  that  is  if  you  have  no  objection." 

"  Yes,  you  can  do  that,"  said  Mrs.  Toller,  "  if  you 
like.  And  you  might  call  on  Lucius  and  see  how  he  is 
behaving  himself,  and  on  young  Bromley,  at  Emmanuel 
College.  And  mind,  Samuel,  I  shall  expect  a  full  ac- 
count from  you  when  you  return  home." 

So  Dr.  Toller  packed  his  bag  and  traveled  up  to 
Cambridge  by  the  five  o'clock  train.  He  drove  first  of 
all  to  Corpus,  where  he  had  a  friend  among  the  Fellows. 
He  was  persuaded  to  dine  in  Hall  before  he  set  out  on 
his  visit  to  Mr.  Binney,  and  enjoyed  himself  exceedingly 
at  the  High  Table,  and  in  the  Combination  room  after- 
wards. He  did  not  disclose  his  object  in  coming  up  to 
Cambridge,  but  heard  quite  enough  about  the  extraor- 
dinary career  of  Mr.  Binney,  who  enjoyed  considerable 
notoriety  at  the  University,  to  persuade  him  that  his 
visit  of  expostulation  was  really  needed.     About  nine 


190  PETER  BINNEY 

o'clock  he  told  his  host  that  he  wished  to  call  on  an 
undergraduate,  and  putting  on  his  clerical  cloak  and 
soft  hat,  he  went  round  to  Trinity  College,  where  he 
was  directed  by  the  porter  to  Mr.  Binney's  rooms  in 
Jesus  Lane. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ME.   BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE 

Since  the  dinner  at  the  beginning  of  the  term  Mr.  Bin- 
ney  had  done  nothing  further  to  bring  him  under  the 
displeasure  of  the  authorities.  Howden,  in  return  for 
the  pecuniary  assistance  he  had  received,  kept  his  noisy 
friends  away  from  him  almost  entirely,  and  so  managed 
it  that  none  of  them  considered  himself  ill-used  by  the 
cessation  of  Mr.  Binney's  former  hospitalities.  He 
worked  very  hard,  and  if  the  absence  of  his  previous 
amusements  did  make  life  rather  dull  to  him,  the  excite- 
ment of  the  coming  Lent  races  and  the  probability  that 
the  crew  he  was  steering  would  give  a  good  account  of 
themselves  buoyed  him  up.  Everything  went  well,  the 
men  were  trained  to  a  nicety,  and  most  of  them  were 
confident  that  their  boat  would  go  head  of  the  river. 
On  the  morning  of  the  races  Mr.  Binney  was  too  nervous 
to  work.  He  attended  one  lecture,  but  found  himself 
quite  incapable  of  discovering  any  meaning  in  the  lec- 
turer's remarks.  After  that  he  relinquished  the  at- 
tempt to  turn  his  mind  to  anything  except  boat-racing, 
and  wandered  about  the  town,  with  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  looking  the  picture  of  misery.     By-and-bye  it 

occurred  to  him  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  son  and  to  try 

191 


192  PETER  BINNEY 

and  extract  some  consolation  from  that  experienced 
oarsman.  He  found  Lucius  engaged  over  a  game  of 
piquet  with  the  ever-cheerful  Dizzy.  Lucius  looked 
rather  ashamed  of  liimsclf  when  his  father  entered,  but 
Dizzy  was  not  at  all  put  out. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Binney,"  he  exclaimed,  "  very  pleased  to 
see  you.  We  are  just  unbending  our  great  minds  a 
little.  All  work  and  no  play,  you  know,  won't  do 
at  all." 

But  reprehensible  as  card  playing  at  twelve  o'clock 
in  the  morning  undoubtedly  is,  Mr.  Binney  made  no 
comment  upon  his  son's  occupation. 

"  I  am  terribly  nervous,  Lucius,"  he  said.  "  I  wish 
this  afternoon  was  well  over." 

"  What !  Got  the  needle !  "  exclaimed  Dizzy,  while 
Lucius  cleared  away  the  cards.  *'  Well,  I'm  not  sur- 
prised at  it.  My  old  governor  once  had  to  make  a 
political  speech.  He  don't  know  anything  about  poli- 
tics, but  the  big  man  had  disappointed  'em,  and  they 
couldn't  get  anybody  bigger  at  a  day's  notice.  I  assure 
you  he  got  so  nervous  that  he  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs 
and  had  to  be  massaged  for  an  hour  before  he  went  off 
to  the  meeting,  and  when  he  got  there  he  made  such  a 
hash  o|  it  that  nobody's  ever  asked  him  to  talk  since, 
although  he  frequently  obliges  when  he  isn^t  asked." 

"  Political  speaking  is  nothing  to  this,"  said  Mr. 
Binney.  "  I  know  all  about  that.  When  I  put  up  for 
the  County  Council  two  years  ago,  I  had  to  make  a 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     193 

speech  every  night  of  my  life  for  a  fortnight,  and  I  en- 
joyed it,  although  I  didn't  get  in;  but  I  feel  so  nervous 
now  that  I  really  don't  know  what  to  do." 

"  You  will  be  all  right,  father,"  said  Lucius,  "  when 
you  find  yourself  sitting  in  the  boat  with  the  rudder 
lines  in  your  hand.  Make  a  good  lunch  and  forget  all 
about  it  till  it's  time  to  go  down  to  the  river.  I  should 
take  a  glass  of  brandy  if  I  were  you.  It'll  pull  you 
together,  and  can't  do  you  any  harm  as  you're  not 
rowing." 

"  Brandy,  Lucy ! "  echoed  Dizzy,  "  the  very  worst 
thing  you  could  possibly  take.  Don't  you  remember 
Dale  who  coxed  the  Eight  at  Eton.  WTien  he  was  in 
the  lower  boats  he  got  the  needle  to  such  an  extent  he 
cried  all  the  morning.  Some  fellow  gave  him  half  a  glass 
of  brandy.  It  made  him  as  merry  as  a  cricket.  He 
said  he  didn't  care  for  anybody,  but  he  forgot  which 
was  his  left,  and  steered  'em  into  the  bank  before  they 
had  rowed  twent}'  strokes." 

"  I  am  not  likely  to  do  that,  Stubbs,"  said  Mr.  Bin- 
ney,  slightly  offended.  "  I'm  not  a  child.  I'm  a  man 
with  a  head  on  my  shoulders,  as  Mirrilees  has  often  told 
me,  but  all  the  same  I  wish  it  were  all  over." 

Just  then  Mirrilees  himself  came  into  the  room  and 
looked  a  little  disturbed  at  finding  Mr.  Binney  there. 
It  was  quite  easy  to  treat  him  as  a  freshman  of  no  im- 
portance when  he  was  by  himself,  but  in  the  presence  of 
his  son  Mirrilees  found  the  position  awkward. 


194.  PETER  BINNEY 

"  You're  bound  to  catch  Pembroke  to-night,  I  think," 
he  said  shyly,  "  and  I  should  certainly  think  you  will  go 
head  on  Saturday  if  everything  goes  well." 

"  I  feel  so  nervous,  3'ou  know,  Mirrilees,"  said  poor 
little  Mr.  Binncy.  "  It's  all  very  well  for  you  young 
fellows  who  are  used  to  it,  but  it's  all  new  to  me,  and 
it's  no  use  pretending  I  feel  at  my  ease." 

"  Oh,  for  heaven's  sake  don't  lose  your  head,"  said 
Mirrilees  anxiously,  "  or  Third  will  bump  you  to  a  cer- 
tainty. They're  not  so  good  as  you  arc,  but  they 
always  go  off  with  a  rush,  and  may  hustle  you  a  bit  at 
first.  If  they  don't  catch  you  before  Grassy  you'll  keep 
away  all  right,  and  ouglit  to  run  into  Pembroke  at 
Ditton  Corner." 

"  Third's  pretty  good,"  said  Lucius.  "  They're  not 
to  be  sneezed  at.  We  generally  row  faster  than  we  are 
expected  to." 

Then  followed  a  long  discussion  between  Lucius  and 
Mirrilees  upon  the  respective  merits  of  the  two  boats, 
which  was  not  calculated  to  allay  Mr.  Binney's  nervous- 
ness, so  he  took  his  leave,  and  Avandered  about  again 
until  lunch  time,  more  disconsolate  than  ever.  A  hun- 
dred times  he  wished  he  had  never  joined  a  boat  club 
and  even  that  he  had  never  come  up  to  Cambridge. 

He  passed  a  very  trying  few  hours  until  it  was  time 
to  go  down  to  the  boat-house.  During  the  long  row 
down  to  the  starting-point  he  discovered  that  he  had 
not  entirely  forgotten  all  that  he  had  learnt  about  the 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     195^ 

art  of  steering  and  felt  a  little  better.  But  when  the 
crew  got  out  of  the  boat  and  waited  about  in  the  driz- 
zling  rain  for  the  first  gun  his  fears  returned  and  he  was 
unable  to  take  any  part  in  the  mild  horse-play  with 
which  the  rest  of  the  crew  beguiled  the  interval.  The 
bustle  of  getting  into  the  boat  again  and  seeing  that 
everything  was  right  with  stretchers,  rowlocks,  and 
steering-gear,  revived  him  a  little,  but  during  that 
awful  minute  before  the  last  gun,  when  the  boat  was 
shoved  out  and  the  men  sat  forward  with  every  nerve 
on  edge,  while  the  coach  stood  on  the  bank,  watch  in 
hand,  telling  off  the  relentless  seconds,  Mr.  Binney's 
face  of  gloom  and  despair  was  a  picture  to  behold.  He 
was  convinced  that  he  was  going  to  drop  the  chain  so 
that  it  would  foul  the  rudder  lines,  or  not  drop  it  at  all, 
or  pull  the  wrong  string,  or  perform  one  of  those  mis- 
takes to  which  the  best  of  coxswains  are  liable  at  these 
terrible  moments. 

But  the  gun  went  off  at  last,  and  before  Mr.  Binney 
had  time  to  realise  that  they  were  fairly  off,  the  boat 
was  swinging  down  the  river  and  he  himself  was  steer- 
ing as  straight  as  an  arrow  towards  the  vivid  blue  of 
the  Pembroke  cox's  blazer,  feeling  as  capable  and  clear- 
headed as  he  had  ever  done  in  his  life. 

At  first  it  seemed  almost  impossible  to  believe  that 
they  would  ever  make  up  the  distance  which  lay  between 
them  and  the  boat  which  was  moving  along  so  steadily 
in   front   of  them.      But   they  had  not   rowed  twenty 


196  PETER  BINNEY 

strokes   before   Mr.    Binney    realised    that    they    were 
slowly  creeping  up. 

A  wild  exultation  took  hold  of  him.  *'  We're  gain- 
ing !  "  he  cried. 

Stroke's  face  was  immovable,  but  he  quickened  up 
slightly.  Another  thirty  strokes  and  there  was  only 
a  lenijth  between  the  two  boats.  Then  Pembroke 
spurted  and  began  to  draw  away. 

Mr.  Binney's  face  fell.  "  We're  losing  ground ! " 
he  said,  but  Stroke  made  no  answer.  His  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  something  past  Mr.  Binney's  head,  and  our 
hero  suddenly  woke  up  to  the  fact  that  the  cries  of: 
"Tliird!  Third!"  which  came  from  the  bank  behind 
him,  were  now  much  nearer  and  almost  as  loud  as 
those  of  "  First !  First ! "  from  their  own  supporters 
alongside. 

A  panic  seized  him,  and  he  quickly  turned  his  head 
am)  saw  the  nose  of  the  Third  Trinity  boat  within  six 
feet  of  his  own.  As  he  did  so,  he  unconsciously  pulled 
one  of  his  strings  and  the  pursuing  boat  shot  up  to 
within  two  feet. 

"  Steady,  there,  steady !  "  growled  Stroke,  with  an 
awful  frown. 

Vir.  Binney  pulled  himself  together  and  set  his  teeth, 
determined  to  think  of  nothing  but  the  Pembroke  boat, 
which  had  now  increased  its  lead  to  a  length  and  a  half. 

"  How  far  are  they  ahead.?  "  asked  Stroke,  in  a  low 
voice. 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     19T 

Mr.  Binney  told  him.  Stroke  quickened  up  and  Mr. 
Binne}^  had  the  dehght  of  feehng  the  boat  shoot  away 
under  him,  while  a  tremendous  roar  from  the  men  on  the 
bank  told  him  that  Third  Trinity  was  being  left  behind 
and  that  all  danger  of  being  bumped  by  them  was  over 
for  the  present. 

Up  and  up  went  the  boat ;  the  length  and  a  half 
was  lessened  to  a  length,  then  to  half  a  length,  then  to  a 
few  feet.  The  Pembroke  stroke  quickened,  and  drew 
away  for  a  few  seconds,  but  the  spurt  soon  died  down. 
First  Trinity  went  on  gaining.  The  Pembroke  cox 
began  to  wash  them  off  with  his  rudder. 

They  had  now  reached  the  Red  Grind,  and  Ditton 
Corner  was  close  ahead.  Mr.  Binne}^  bided  his  time  and 
crept  in  a  trifle  closer  to  the  bank.  The  nose  of  his  boat 
began  to  dance  up  alongside  the  stern  of  the  one  in 
front.  Then  the  Pembroke  cox  made  a  mistake  and 
steered  into  the  river.  "  We've  got  them,"  yelled  Mr. 
Binney. 

Stroke  made  a  mighty  effort,  which  was  answered  by 
Pembroke,  too  late,  for  the  Trinity  boat  was  shaving 
the  corner,  while  they  were  right  out  in  the  river.  Mr. 
Binney  held  his  course  until  the  nose  of  his  boat  was 
level  with  No.  5*s  rigger.  Then  he  pulled  his  left  string 
sharply  and  ran  into  them  just  behind  their  cox- 
swain's seat. 

"  Well  steered,"  said  Stroke  quietly,  as  he  rested  on 


198  PETER  BINNEY 

his  oar.     "  Couldn't  Juivc  bwn  done  better."     And  Mr. 
Binney  tasted  the  joys  of  paradise. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Binncy's  nervousness  had  vanished 
entirely.  He  thirsted  to  be  again  in  the  fray,  and 
looked  forward  keenly  to  repeating  the  triumph  of  the 
previous  afternoon.  Needless  to  say  he  wrote  a  long, 
exultant  letter  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  recounting  his 
success  and  the  honour  it  had  brought  him.  Lucius 
and  Dizzy  came  round  in  the  morning  to  congratulate 
him  and  to  wish  him  luck  in  the  coming  race. 

"Of  course  I  wish  Third  had  bumped  them,"  said 
Lucius,  as  they  walked  down  Jesus  Lane  together,  "  but 
still  the  governor  would  have  been  so  sorry  for  himself 
that  it's  just  as  well  they  didn't." 

"  You  would  have  had  your  screw  docked,  Lucy,  if 
Third  had  caught  them,"  said  Dizzy,  "so  you  may 
consider  yourself  jolly  lucky  they  kept  away." 

"  Oh,  that's  all  over  now,"  said  Lucius.  "  The 
Governor  behaves  much  more  respectably  than  he  did 
last  term.  If  that  business  had  gone  on  I  really  don't 
think  I  could  have  stopped  up  here." 

Mr.  Binney  received  their  congratulations  with 
equanimity.  He  had  jumped  from  the  depths  of  self- 
distrust  to  the  height  of  complaisance,  and  now  felt 
that  if  he  had  gone  to  Putney  with  the  University  crew 
the  victory  of  Cambridge  over  Oxford  would  have  been 
assured. 

"  Oh,  it's  as  simple  as  anything,"  he  said,  in  answer 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     199 

to  their  congratulations.  "  I  can't  think  what  ever  can 
have  made  me  feel  so  nervous  yesterday." 

"  Don't  you  be  too  cocksure  about  it,  Mr.  Binney," 
said  Dizzy.  "  I  knew  a  fellow  once  who  rode  in  a  steeple- 
chase. He'd  got  by  far  the  best  nag,  and  the  odds 
were  four  to  one  on  him.  But  he  was  so  certain  of 
winning  that  he  forgot  he  was  riding  in  a  race  at  all, 
and  got  off  to  pick  a  flower  after  he  had  jumped  the 
first  hurdle.  By  the  time  he  remembered  where  he  was 
and  got  on  again,  the  other  fellows  had  reached  the 
winning  post.    The  bookies  nearly  murdered  him." 

Mr.  Binney  was  not  in  a  frame  of  mind  to  take  warn- 
ing by  this  awful  example  of  forgetfulness.  He  was  so 
talkative  in  the  changing  room  that  he  was  severely 
snubbed  by  the  Captain  of  the  boat.  Jesus,  the  boat  in 
front  of  them  this  evening,  ought  to  have  presented  no 
difficulties  and  would  certainly  have  been  caught  by 
Pembroke  in  the  long  reach  the  night  before  if  First 
Trinity  had  not  made  their  bump  at  Ditton.  Mr.  Bin- 
ney steered  very  badly  at  Grassy  and  lost  a  lot  of 
ground.  His  steering  round  Ditton  Corner  was  a  little 
better,  but  nothing  like  so  good  as  on  the  previous  eve- 
ning, and  again  Jesus  got  away.  First  Trinity  made 
their  bump  at  the  railway  bridge,  but  the  men  had  had 
a  hard  race  instead  of  a  very  easy  one,  and  some  un- 
pleasant things  were  said  to  our  hero  when  the  race  was 
at  last  over. 

The   next   day    Mr.    Binney   had    learned    a    lesson, 


aOO  PETER  BINNEY 

steered  well,  and  caught  Ladj  Margaret  at  Ditton  much 
in  the  same  way  as  Pembroke  hud  been  bumped  on  the 
first  night. 

First  Trinity  were  now  in  the  second  place  on  the 
river,  and  had  their  work  cut  out  for  them  to  bump 
Trinity  Hall  on  the  last  night. 

It  was  generally  agreed  that  they  were  slightly  the 
better  boat,  but  whether  they  were  good  enough  to  over- 
come the  advantage  that  the  head  boat  always  has  in 
rowing  in  clear  water,  was  a  disputed  point.  They  had 
at  any  rate  nothing  to  fear  from  the  boat  behind  them. 
Mr.  Binney's  previous  experience  had  brought  him  into 
the  right  state  of  mind  to  enable  him  to  do  his  best. 
The  three  bumps  he  had  already  made  had  given  him 
confidence,  and  his  mistakes  of  the  second  night  pre- 
served him  from  b  ing  over-confident. 

First  Trinity  made  up  their  distance  by  the  time 
they  had  reached  the  Red  Grind,  and  from  that  time 
there  was  never  more  than  a  few  feet  of  daylight  be- 
tween the  two  boats  until  the  end  of  the  race.  At  Dit- 
ton they  overlapped,  but  Mr.  Binney  made  his  shot  too 
early,  and  the  Hall  just  managed  to  keep  away.  The 
enthusiasm  from  the  supporters  of  the  Crescent,  stand- 
ing or  running  on  the  banks,  had  the  effect  of  steadying 
Mr.  Binney's  nerves.  A  ding-dong  race  ensued,  right 
u})  tlie  Long  Reacli,  but  with  all  their  exertion  the  First 
Trinity  men  were  unable  to  increase  their  distance. 

At  the  railway  bridge  the  nose  of  the  pursuing  boat 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     gOl 

was  a  foot  past  the  rudder  of  the  other.  But  Mr.  Bin- 
ney  knew  that  if  he  made  a  shot  at  them  now  all  was  lost. 

"  Plug  it  in,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice  to  Stroke,  "  and 
we've  got  them." 

Stroke  did  plug  it  in.  He  was  nobly  seconded  in  one 
last  despairing  eflFort  by  the  men  behind  him.  The  nose 
of  the  First  Trinity  boat  crept  slowly  but  surely  up, 
Mr.  Binney  pulled  his  left  line  just  in  the  nick  of  time, 
and  "First  Trinity  bumped  the  head  boat  not  a  dozen 
yards  from  the  winning  post. 

A  very  proud  man  was  Mr.  Binney  that  evening  when 
everything  was  over,  when  they  had  rowed  back  to  the 
boat-house  with  the  heavy  flag  flapping  behind  them 
and  the  cheering  crowd  of  men  accompanying  them  on 
the  bank.  When  he  had  changed  and  gone  home  to 
his  rooms  with  the  pleasures  of  an  amusing  bump  sup- 
per in  the  hall  before  him,  he  sat  down  in  front  of  his 
fire  and  went  over  in  his  mind  the  causes  for  self- 
congratulation.  At  last  he  had  done  something  which 
raised  him  out  of  the  common  ruck  of  University  men, 
something  that  could  never  be  taken  away  from  him. 
He  saw  in  imagination  his  rudder  with  the  Trinity  coat- 
of-arras,  the  names  and  weights  of  the  crew  and  the 
cox,  and  the  conquered  colleges  emblazoned  upon  it 
hanging  up  in  his  hall  in  Russell  Square.  His  imagina- 
tion did  not  stop  there.  He  saw  other  rudders  nailed 
up  by  its  side,  of  which  at  least  one  should  bear  the 
combined  arms  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.     He  felt  that 


202  PETER  BINNEY 

he  had  acquitted  himself  so  as  to  cam  him  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham's  undying  admiration,  and  visited  a  tele- 
graph office  immediately  upon  his  return  in  order  to 
send  that  excellent  woman  the  earliest  information  of 
his  brilliant  achievement. 

At  the  bump  supper  that  evening  Mr.  Binney  was 
the  gayest  of  the  gay.  He  did  not  exceed  his  usual 
allowance  of  wine.  This,  in  spite  of  the  unmannerly 
taunts  of  the  New  Court  Chronicle,  he  had  never  yet 
done  and  would  have  been  ashamed  of  doing.  But  he 
was  so  excited  by  his  success  that  other  members  of 
the  party  who  had  not  been  so  careful  as  himself  gave 
liini  full  credit  for  having  done  so,  and  laughed  up- 
roariously at  his  sallies  of  wit,  clapped  him  vigorously 
on  the  back,  and  displayed  all  the  usual  signs  of  the 
best  of  good  fellowship. 

Mr.  Binney  made  a  speech.  He  always  did  make  a 
speech  whenever  there  was  an  opportunity.  He  said 
that  this  was  the  proudest  moment  of  his  life.  (Cheers.) 
He  should  despise  liimsclf  if  he  thought  otherwise. 
(Cheers.)  He  thought  that  the  cox  was  the  most  im- 
portant man  in  a  boat.  (Loud  cries  of  *' No !  No!" 
and  laughter.)  Well,  if  he  wasn't  the  most  important, 
at  any  rate,  they  couldn't  get  on  without  him,  and  he 
was  very  proud  to  find  himself  in  a  position  of  that  sort. 
He  had  had  triumphs  in  his  life  before  now  (cheers  and 
laughter),  but  they  were  as  nothing  to  this.  He  didn't 
know  how  to   say   enough   about  it,   although  he   was 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     203 

used  to  public  speaking.  (Laughter,  cries  of  "  Union.") 
Some  gentleman  had  mentioned  the  word  "  Union." 
Well,  he  had  thought  at  one  time  that  success  at  the 
Union  was  the  best  sort  of  success  that  Cambridge 
could  afford.  He  didn't  think  so  now.  Give  him  suc- 
cess on  the  river — he  would  leave  all  the  rest  to  gentle- 
men not  so  fortunate  as  himself.  (Loud  applause  and 
cries  of  "  Sit  down.")  He  saw  around  him  a  great 
many  friends.  (Laughter.)  He  hoped  he  might  call 
them  friends.  (Cries  of  "  Certainly,"  "  By  all  means.") 
They  were  all  jolly  good  fellows,  and  so  say  all  of  us. 
(Cheers.)  He  had  said  before  that  this  was  the 
proudest  moment  of  his  life.  He  would  say  it  again. 
(Laughter,  and  the  rest  of  Mr.  Binney's  speech,  which 
he  appeared  to  be  about  to  begin  all  over  again,  was 
drowned  by  vociferous  cheers  which  were  gradually 
rounded  off  into  "For  he's  a  jolly  good  fellow,"  sung 
in  chorus  by  everyone  present.) 

At  the  close  of  the  evening,  just  before  twelve  o'clock, 
as  Mr.  Binney  was  going  out  of  college,  arm-in-arm 
with  two  jovial  companions,  the  gate  was  opened  to 
admit  Piper  and  one  or  two  more  football  players  who 
had  gained  a  great  victory  over  Dublin  University  that 
afternoon  in  the  last  match  of  the  season,  and  had  since 
celebrated  the  occasion  by  a  more  protracted  dinner 
than  was  good  for  them. 

Piper  was,  in  fact,  very  drunk,  and  his  potations  al- 
ways had  the  effect  of  making  him  extremely  quarrel- 


;^04  PETER  BINNEY 

some.  At  this  particular  juncture  he  was,  in  American 
phraseology,  "  looking  for  trouble."  He  found  it  in 
the-obnoxious  person  of  his  late  butb,  Mr.  Binney,  who 
came  towards  him  smiling,  his  gown  put  on  inside  out, 
over  his  somewhat  disordered  evening  clothes. 

The  sight  of  Mr.  Binney  roused  Piper's  smouldering 
ill-humour  to  the  point  of  frenzy.  With  a  muttered 
execration  he  went  for  our  hero.  Mr.  Binney  saw  him 
coming,  and  with  a  shriek  of  terror,  turned  round, 
loosening  his  hold  upon  his  two  companions,  and  fled 
terrified  back  towards  the  hall. 

Piper  gave  a  yell,  and  started  off  in  chase,  but  lost 
his  footing  at  the  two  steps-leading  into  the  Court,  and 
enabled  Mr.  Binney  to'' get  a  clear  start  as  far  as  the 
fountain,  before  his  pursuer  was  up  and  after  him  again. 

His  two  friends  made  no  attempt  tp  protect  him. 
They  shrieked  with  laughter  at  the  ridiculous  spec- 
tacle, and  rolled  about  doubled  up  in  their  ecstasy  of 
amusement. 

But  fortunately  for  Mr.  Binney  the  Great  Court  was 
full  of  his  late  companions  of  the  feast.  "  Save  me, 
save  me !  "  cried  the  poor  little  man,  as  he  ran  towards 
a  group  of  them  near  the  kitchen  staircase.  Piper 
was  still  a  bete  noir  to  a  great  man}'  of  the  rowing  men, 
although  with  his  exception  the  feud  between  oarsmen 
and  footballers  was  now  quite  healed.  Mr.  Binney  ran 
through  the  astonished  group,  down  the  narrow  passage 
leading  into  the  Hostels.     They  closed  up  their  ranks 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     205 

and  let  Piper  run  into  them.  There  was  great  con- 
fusion for  the  moment,  and  cries  of  "  Now  then,  sir, 
where  are  you  coming  to?  "  and  the  like.  Piper  forgot 
for  the  moment  where  he  was  going  to,  and  in  the  mean- 
time his  companions  came  up.  One  of  them  was  How- 
den,  who  was  in  the  effusive  after-dinner  stage. 

"  You're  the  fellows  who  went  head  of  the  river,  aren't 
you?"  he  cried.  "You're  jolly  noble  fellows  all  the 
lot  of  you,  and  I  shall  be  proud  to  shake  hands  with 
you  all  round.  We're  the  fellows  who  have  beaten  the 
Irishmen  by  two  goals  and  a  try  to  nothing.  And 
that's  all  right,  isn't  it?  " 

It  appeared  to  be  all  right,  certainly,  for  the  two 
groups  immediately  fraternised  with  mutual  expressions 
of  admiration.  And  even  Piper  was  so  overborne  by 
the  general  good  feeling  that  he  relinquished  his  inten- 
tion of  spilling  Mr.  Binney's  blood,  and  allowed  himself 
to  be  drawn  off,  while  our  hero  crept  round  by  Neville's 
Court,  through  the  screens  and  out  again  through  the 
Great  Gate,  still  somewhat  frightened,  and  by  no  means 
so  hilarious  as  he  had  been  five  minutes  before. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Binney  woke  up  feeling  rather 
cheap,  but  not  without  a  thrill  of  pride  when  he  re- 
called the  glorious  achievements  of  the  last  four  days. 
He  went  to  the  chapel  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
attend  twice  on  a  Sunday,  and  thought  that  every  mem- 
ber of  the  congregation  must  have  heard  of  his  prowess 
on  the  river,  and  be  eyeing  him  with  admiration  as  he 


206  PETER  BINNEY 

handed  round  the  phite  at  the  close  of  the  service,  clad 
in  his  under^riiduute's  gown.  As  he  sat  at  his  solitary 
lunch  Howdtn  came  in. 

"  Hullo,  Binncy,  old  chap,"  he  said,  "  here  you  are 
at  last.  I've  been  in  once  or  twice  to  try  and  find  you 
this  morning.  You  did  jolly  well  in  the  races.  I  was 
there  on  Friday  and  saw  you  make  your  bump." 

"  It's  a  splendid  thing,  you  know,  Howdcn,"  said  Mr. 
Binncy,  "  taking  part  in  a  great  contest  like  that.  You 
know  what  it  is,  for  you're  a  celebrated  athlete 
yourself.  It  makes  you  feel  warm  all  over,  doesn't 
it?" 

"  It  makes  you  feel  black  and  blue  all  over,"  said 
Howden,  "  after  a  game  like  yesterday.  We  didn't  do 
so  badly,  Binncj^  did  we?  We  never  expected  to  beat 
them  like  that.  Look  here,  I've  got  some  of  the  fellows 
who  were  playing  yesterday  coming  to  supper  with  me 
this  evening,  and  two  of  the  Irish  chaps  who  are  staying 
here  over  Sunday  are  coming  as  well.  You  come  too, 
Binncy.  We  shall  have  a  jolly  rowdy  evening,  quite 
like  old  times.  You're  out  of  training  now,  and  you 
haven't  had  a  bust  since  the  beginning  of  the  term. 
Eight  o'clock  in  my  rooms." 

Mr.  Binncy  looked  shocked. 

"  What,  on  Sunday  evening?  "  he  exclaimed.  *'  My 
dear  Howden,  I  couldn't  entertain  the  idea  for  a  mo- 
ment." 

"  Oh,  well,"   said  Howden,  somewhat   abashed,   "  we 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     207 

shan't  be  doing  any  harm.  You  must  feed  somewhere 
even  if  it  is  Sunday." 

"  I  always  dine  in  hall  on  Sunday,"  said  Mr.  Binney, 
"  and  go  to  church  afterwards.  I  am  sorry  I  can't 
join  you,  Howden,  although,  if  it  had  been  on  any  other 
night  in  the  week,  I  should  have  been  delighted.  Those 
dinners  we  used  to  have  were  rather  good  fun,  weren't 
they.?*  I  shouldn't  mind  another  one  now  if  we  could 
keep  it  a  bit  quieter.  I'll  tell  you  what,  Howden,  we 
will  have  another  dinner  in  my  rooms  to-morrow  night, 
just  to  celebrate  our  going  head." 

"  What,  the  old  lot !  "  exclaimed  Howden.  "  That 
will  be  ripping,  Binney.  I've  never  had  such  jolly  din- 
ners since  I've  been  up  here  as  yours  were.  You're 
such  a  capital  good  host,  you  know." 

"  Well,  I  like  entertaining  my  friends,"  said  Mr.  Bin- 
ney, much  gratified.  "I  used  to  enjoy  those  dinners 
myself,  but  they  certainly  were  getting  rather  too 
rowdy.     We  must  keep  a  bit  quieter  to-morrow." 

"  Right  you  are,"  said  Howden,  and  he  and  Mr. 
Binney  drew  out  a  list  of  half  a  dozen  constellations 
of  the  athletic  world,  who  had  already  had  experience 
of  Mr.  Binney's  hospitality  in  days  gone  by,  and  might 
be  supposed  to  be  willing  to  partake  of  it  again. 

Mr.  Binney's  dinner  was  a  repetition  of  those  which 
had  brought  him  into  disrepute  during  the  previous 
term,  onh'',  instead  of  being  quieter  than  had  been  cus- 
tomary with  those  entertainments,  it  was  a  noisier  revel 


«08  PETER  BINXEY 

tliari  any  of  them.  Bumpers  had  to  be  drunk  to  the 
thirst  Trinity  Boat  Club,  and  to  the  cox  of  its  first 
Lent  boat.  Tiiis  was  done  before  the  fish  came  on. 
By  the  time  the  entree  had  made  its  appearance  success 
to  tlie  University  Rugby  Football  Club  had  been  duly 
honoured,  and  the  healths  of  tlie  various  members  of  it 
there  present  brought  them  to  dessert  in  a  state  of 
hilarious  good  fellowship.  Mr.  Binney  usually  objected 
to  bumpers,  but  it  was  pointed  out  to  him  that  his 
refusal  to  empty  them  would  be  considered  a  cowardly 
insult  to  his  guests  in  whose  honour  they  were  proposed. 
Alas!  before  dinner  was  well  over,  Mr.  Binney  was 
in  a  state  the  mere  imagination  of  which  would  have 
made  him  blush  with  shame  in  his  more  collected  mo- 
ments. His  face  was  flushed,  his  speech  thick,  and  his 
laughter  meaningless  but  incessant.  His  guests  were, 
most  of  them,  in  a  similar  state,  and  the  unhappy  little 
man,  instead  of  mildly  rebuking  them  for  their  excesses, 
as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do,  encouraged  them  to 
further  libations,  and  filled  their  glasses  himself  with  an 
unsteady  hand,  and  giggling  exhortations  to  make  a 
night  of  it.  At  a  later  stage  of  the  evening  Mr.  Binney 
was  on  his  legs  making  the  inevitable  speech.  It  was 
an  entirely  incoherent  speech,  but  his  hearers  applauded 
it  no  less  for  that.  When  a  gleam  of  intelligence  did 
detach  itself  from  Mr.  Binncy's  rambling  procession  of 
verbiage  and  pierce  tlieir  heated  brains,  the  cheers  and 
hammerings    on    tlie    table    rose    to    fever    pitch,    and 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     209 

spurred  on  the  poor  little  object  to  still  greater  exer- 
tions. During  one  of  these  interludes,  when  the  ap- 
plause was  at  its  height  and  Mr.  Binney  stood  leaning 
against  the  table  with  glassy  eye  and  fatuous  smile 
waiting  for  the  din  to  subside,  and  bracing  himself  up 
for  a  further  attempt,  the  door  of  the  room  opened, 
and  a  tall  black  figure,  its  face  wearing  an  expression 
of  scandalised  amazement,  stood  framed  in  the  door- 
way. It  was  the  Reverend  Dr.  Toller  come  to  expostu- 
late with  the  wandering  sheep  of  his  otherwise  irre- 
proachable flock. 

Mr.  Binney  was  the  first  to  notice  him.  He  frowned 
slightly  in  a  determined  effort  to  regain  his  scattered 
senses.  Then  the  amiable  smile  spread  once  more  over 
his  face  as  he  recognised  his  friend. 

"  Dorrertoller !  "  he  cried,  in  a  delighted  impulse  of 
hospitable  welcome.  "  Come  in,  my  dear  sir,  and  dring 
a  glass  o'  wine.  You  see  me,  Dorrertoller,  s'rounded 
by  m'  friends,  celebrelating  merrificent  vickery,  boclub. 
Genelmel,  'low  me,  ole  friend,  Dorrertoller.  Come  in, 
ole  boy.     Mayself  tome.     Siddown." 

"  Mr.  Binney !  "  said  the  good  doctor  in  an  awful 
tone.  "  Are  you  aware,  sir,  of  the  terrible  scandal  you 
are  bringing  upon  yourself  and  your  friends  by  this 
unseemly — this  disgraceful  conduct  ?  " 

"  Thashalri,  Dorrertoll,"  said  the  unhappy  Mr.  Bin- 
ney.    "  Siddow.     All  ole  frells  here." 

It  would  ill  become  us  to  protract  the  account  of  this 


210  PETER  BIXNEY 

shameful  scene.  Dr.  Toller,  shocked  and  horrified  be- 
yond all  bounds,  lifted  up  his  voice  in  expostulation 
and  reproof  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  but  all  in  vain. 
IVfr.  Binney  was  past  taking  hoed  of  rebukes,  and  wan- 
dered foolishly  along,  pressing  the  doctor  to  make  one 
of  the  party,  and  drink  the  health  of  some  of  the  best 
fellows  he  was  ever  likely  to  meet.  That  at  least  was 
the  intention  of  his  invitation,  but  his  enunciation  not 
being  so  clear  as  could  be  wished,  the  warmth  of  his 
welcome  could  only  be  gathered  from  his  engaging  smile 
and  his  ineffectual  attempts  to  drag  a  chair  up  to  the 
table,  a  chair  on  which  one  of  his  guests  happened  al- 
ready to  be  sitting.  Most  of  the  other  men  took  Dr. 
Toller  for  a  Proctor  and  kept  quiet,  while  Mr.  Binney 
used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  induce  him  to  join  them. 
They  returned  again  to  their  previous  state  of  merri- 
ment when  the  Doctor  had  loft  the  room,  having  per- 
ceived that  anything  that  he  might  have  to  say  to  Mr. 
Binney  would  have  to  bo  kept  until  the  next  morn- 
ing. 

Later  on  in  the  evening,  a  Proctor  did  paj'  them  a 
visit,  the  noise  having  become  so  insistent  that  it  was 
bound  to  attract  the  attention  of  any  one  passing  down 
Jesus  Lane.  He  took  the  names  of  all  the  party,  but 
Mr.  Binney  went  to  bed  in  happy  oblivion  of  the  event, 
as  well  as  of  the  advent  of  his  pastor,  and  woke  up  in 
the  morning  with  a  bad  headache  and  a  dim  impression 
that  something  had  happened  the  night  before  which 


MR.  BINNEY  GETS  INTO  TROUBLE     211 

would  cause  him  great  uneasiness  if  only  he  could  re- 
member what  it  was. 

As  he  sat  with  throbbing  head  and  smarting  eyeballs 
over  a  late  cup  of  tea,  which  he  dignified  by  the  name 
of  breakfast,  a  "  bull-dog  "  was  announced,  who  brought 
him  a  slip  of  paper  requesting  him  to  call  on  the  Junior 
Proctor  at  a  stated  time. 

Mr.  Binney  groaned.  He  had  a  dim  idea  that  he  had 
had  an  unfinished  conversation  with  a  Proctor  at  some 
previous  state  of  his  existence,  but  he  could  not  remem- 
ber when.  He  supposed  it  must  have  been  during  the 
previous  evening,  but  he  could  not  remember  having 
gone  out  after  dinner. 

A  little  later  on,  a  similar  notice  was  brought  to  him 
from  his  Tutor.  Mr.  Binney  was  in  such  a  low  state 
that  he  actually  shed  tears  at  this  fresh  misfortune. 
He  must  have  done  something  very  bad  indeed.  If  only 
he  could  remember  what  it  was !  But  he  couldn't,  and 
his  head  was  too  painful  to  allow  him  to  exert  it  to 
any  great  extent.  All  he  knew  was  that  he  would  never 
be  able  to  hold  up  that  head  again.  He  would  be  sent 
down  for  a  certainty.  He  would  be  eternally  disgraced 
in  the  eyes  of  all  his  friends,  before  whom  he  had  been 
used  to  bear  himself  so  proudly.  He  grew  cold  when  he 
thought  of  what  Mrs.  Higginbotham  would  say  to  him. 
Then  his  thoughts  flew  with  a  deadly  sinking  of  heart 
to  Dr.  Toller  and  his  fellow-officers  in  the  congregation 
of  which  Dr.  Toller  was  the  shining  leader.     At  this 


213  PETER  BINNEY 

nionient  there  was  a  ring  at  the  bell,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments Dr.  Toller  himself  was  announced.  Mr.  Binney 
buried  his  head  in  the  cushions  of  his  armchair  and 
wept  aloud. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

NEMESIS 

Dr.  Toller  left  Mr.  Binney  an  hour  afterwards, 
chastened  and  repentant.  The  full  enormity  of  his 
crime  had  been  brought  home  to  him.  His  only  plea 
was  that  this  was  the  first  time  such  a  dreadful  thing 
had  happened.  Dr.  Toller  did  not  refer  in  direct  terms 
to  the  New  Court  Chronicle,  as  he  remembered  in  time 
that  his  wife  had  not  told  him  before  he  left  home  how 
its  numbers  had  fallen  into  her  hands.  But  he  drew 
from  Mr.  Binney  an  account  of  the  occurrences  of  the 
term,  and  amongst  them  of  the  attack  that  Piper  had 
made  upon  him  in  his  paper.  "  I  went  in  for  revelry 
to  some  extent  last  term,"  Mr.  Binney  explained,  "  but, 
even  then,  nothing  of  the  sort  that  happened  last  night 
took  place.  This  term  my  life  has  been  hitherto  irre- 
proachable, and  I  did  not  deserve  these  attacks." 

Dr.  Toller  was  pleased  to  hear  it.  Poor  Mr.  Binney 
was  so  ashamed  of  himself  and  looked  such  a  pitiable 
object  bundled  up  in  his  armchair  with  a  despairing 
look  on  his  white  face  and  black  rings  under  his  eyes, 
that  he  readily  promised  to  keep  the  account  of  the 
previous   night's    orgie   from   Mr.   Binney's    friends   in 

Bloomsbury,  and  before  he  went  gave  the  repentant 

213 


214  rETER  BINNEY 

sinner  full  absolution  and  a  ercat  deal  of  very  ffood 
advice. 

When  the  doctor  had  removed  himself  it  was  time  for 
Mr,  Binnej  to  c;dl  on  the  Proctor,  Avho  was  a  Fellow 
of  Jesus  College.  Mr.  Binncj  crawled  along  down  the 
sunny  side  of  the  lane  feeling  very  miserable.  But  tlie 
interview  was  not  quite  so  painful  as  he  had  imagined. 
The  Proctor  was  a  young  man  witli  a  keen  sense  of 
humour.  He  tried  to  impart  a  fitting  air  of  severity 
into  his  strictures  on  the  disgraceful  scene  he  had  inter- 
rupted, but  spoilt  it  all  by  bursting  into  a  peal  of 
laughter  in  the  middle  of  his  lecture.  After  that  there 
was  nothing  further  to  be  done  but  to  extort  a  heavy 
fine  from  the  culprit  and  to  let  him  go.  Mr.  Binney 
felt  somewhat  relieved  as  he  Avalked  out  through  the 
gates  of  Jesus  down  the  passage  into  the  lane,  but  his 
heart  sank  again  like  lead  as  he  remembered  his  coming 
interview  with  his  Tutor.  He  had  just  time  enough  to 
go  into  his  rooms  and  drink  a  glass  of  milk- and  soda, 
before  it  was  time  to  repair  to  Trinity  College  to  un- 
dergo the  ordeal  of  Mr.  Rimington's  displeasure. 

Mr.  Binney  had  to  wait  some  time  in  the  Tutor's 
ante-room.  His  thoughts  were  very  bitter  as  he  sat 
turning  over  the  pages  of  a  book,  keenly  aware  of  the 
titters  and  whispers  of  the  men  who  were  waiting  with 
him. 

The  Tutor's  face,  when  Mr.  Binney  at  last  entered 
the  inner  room,  was  not  reassuring.     It  wore  a  severe, 


NEMESIS  215 

and,  to  Mr.  Binney's  overstrung  perceptions,  it  seemed 
a  contemptuous  look.  Mr.  Rimington  did  not  shake 
hands  with  his  pupil  as  was  his  wont,  but  motioned  him 
to  a  chair  and  plunged  immediately  in  medias  res. 

"  You  know,  of  course,  why  I  have  sent  for  you,  Mr. 
Binney,"  he  said.  "  I  have  no  intention  of  expostulat- 
ing with  you.  I  have  tried  that  already,  and  it  proved 
to  be  of  no  avail.  I  simply  have  to  say  that  the  college 
can  no  longer  put  up  with  the  way  you  choose  to  behave 
yourself,  and  you  must  go  down  to-day." 

"What?  go  down  for  good,  sir?"  said  poor  Mr. 
Binney  in  a  broken  voice. 

"  Yes,  I  think  so,"  said  the  Tutor. 

"  Oh,  surely  you  can't  be  so  hard  as  that,"  pleaded 
Mr.  Binney.     "Think  of  the  disgrace,  sir." 

"  I  do  think  of  the  disgrace,"  said  the  Tutor,  with 
a  short  laugh.  "  I  wish  you  had  thought  of  it  yourself 
a  little  sooner." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  on  the  last  occasion  of 
a  conversation  between  Mr.  Rimington  and  Mr,  Binney, 
the  latter  had  taken  a  very  high  line,  for  which  he  had 
subsequently  apologised,  but  not  quite  adequately.  Mr. 
Rimington  had  become  very  tired  of  Mr.  Binney's 
methods  of  speech  and  conduct,  and  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  speak  shortly  and  sharply,  and  not  to  allow 
any  discussion  of  his  decision.  He  was  not,  however, 
prepared  for  the  total  breakdown  of  Mr.  Binney's  op- 
position to  his  authority.     The  poor  little  creature  sit- 


216  PETER  BINNEY 

ting  crumpled  up  before  him  in  abject  and  hot-cjed 
misery  was  a  very  different  person  from  the  combative 
self-sufficient  gentleman  who  had  resisted  his  warnings 
in  such  a  high-handed  fashion  when  he  had  before  anim- 
adverted on  his  conduct,  so  he  did  not  refuse  to  listen 
when  Mr.  Binncy  began  to  plead  with  him  in  a  piteous, 
broken-hearted  manner. 

"  I  know  I  have  disgraced  myself,  sir,"  he  said,  "  I 
feel  it  deeply.  But  such  a  thing  will  never  happen 
again,  and  it  has  never  happened  before." 

"  Oh,  pardon  me,  Mr.  Binne}-,"  said  the  Tutor, 
"  This  affair  is  only  the  climax  to  a  consistent  course 
of  such  behaviour.  I  have  had  reason  to  speak  to  you 
before  about  it.  You  can't  possibly  have  forgotten 
that." 

"  Not  about  drunkenness,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  I  was  drunk  last  night,  you  know.  I  confess  it.  That 
has  never  happened  before,  and  will  never  happen 
again." 

"  There  are  degrees  of  culpability,  of  course,  in  these 
matters,"  said  Mr.  Rimington.  "  Where  you  seem  to 
disagree  with  me  is  in  thinking  that  these  disorderly 
meetings  are  allowable  at  all  when  a  man  of  your  age 
and  influence  takes  the  lead  in  setting  all  rules  of  order 
and  good  conduct  aside." 

"  I  don't  disagree  with  you  at  all,  sir,"  said  Mr. 
Binney.  "  I  am  very  sorry  that  anything  of  the  sort 
has   ever  happened   in  my   rooms.     I  jiromisc   you,   if 


NEMESIS  217 

you  will  only  give  me  another  chance,  that  it  shall  never 
happen  again." 

"  You  forget,  Mr.  Binney,  that  I  ventured  to  impress 
my  views  upon  you  at  the  end  of  last  term,  and  warned 
you  that  if  anything  of  the  sort  happened  again  I 
should  be  compelled  to  take  a  serious  view  of  it.  The 
first  man  I  had  to  deal  with  at  the  beginning  of  this 
term  had  got  into  trouble  through — er — his  companion- 
ship with  you.  And  further  than  that  your  name  has 
become  synonymous  with  disorderly  behaviour  through- 
out the  University." 

What  would  not  Mr.  Binney  have  given  at  that  mo- 
ment to  recall  the  vanished  days  and  spend  them  to 
better  advantage?  The  contemptible  light  in  which  he 
must  appear  to  men  of  his  own  standing  was  borne  in 
upon  him  like  a  flood,  and  he  felt  that  it  would  indeed 
be  better  if  he  left  Cambridge  for  good  and  never  showed 
his  face  there  again. 

"  I  deserve  to  be  sent  down  in  disgrace,"  he  said 
feebly.  "  There  is  only  one  reason  why  I  beg  you  to 
exercise  your  clemency — for  the  sake  of  my  boy." 

Mr.  Rimington's  mild  eyes  flashed  fire.  "  I  can 
scarcely  trust  myself  to  speak  to  you  on  that  subject," 
he  said.  "  If  I  do  so  it  is  because  I  feel  it  my  duty  as 
a  clergyman  to  try  and  bring  home  to  you  the  enormity 
of  your  conduct  towards  your  son.  Are  you  incapable 
of " 

"  Oh,   don't,   don't,"    interrupted   Mr.    Binney   in   a 


218  PETER  BINNEY 

Ijrokon-hcarted  voice.  "  I  see  it  all.  Nothing  you 
could  say  would  be  so  severe  as  what  I  say  to  myself. 
I  can't  bear  it.  I  can't  really.  But  just  think  what 
an  awful  thin<r  it  would  be  for  him  to  have  it  said  that 
his  father  was  sent  down  for  drunkenness.  He  would 
bear  the  brand  of  it  all  his  life." 

"  It  seems  to  ine,"  said  the  Tutor  dryly,  *'  that  you 
have  already  given  him  something  that  he  will  have 
reason  to  be  ashamed  of  all  his  life.  I  have  a  great 
admiration  for  your  son.  I  tell  you  candidly,  INIr.  Bin- 
ney,  that  I  don't  know  one  other  undergraduate  who 
could  have  held  up  his  head  in  Cambridge  after  what 
he  has  gone  through." 

"  Oh,  don't  say  any  more,  I  beg  of  you,"  cried  Mr. 
Binney,  cut  to  the  heart.  "  And  don't  make  things 
worse  for  him  by  sending  me  down." 

"  If  I  thought  for  a  moment  that  your  staying  up 
here  would  make  things  easier  for  him,"  said  Mr. 
Rimington,  "  I  own  I  should  hesitate,  although  I  don't 
say  that  my  decision  would  be  altered.  But  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  very  kindest  course  to  pursue  on  his  ac- 
count would  be  to  prevent  his  having  any  further  cause 
to  be  shamed  by  your  conduct  up  here.  No,  Mr.  Bin- 
ney. You  must  go  down  this  afternoon.  I  have  spoken 
to  one  or  two  of  my  colleagues  about  it,  and  our  deci- 
sion is  irrevocable.  I  sec  no  use  in  protracting  this 
painful  interview." 

IMr.  Binney  pleaded  and  besought,  but  all  to  no  avail, 


NEMESIS  219 

and  left  his  Tutor's  presence  at  last,  a  idisgraced  and 
despairing  man. 

The  feelings  of  Lucius  towards  his  father  are  too 
painful  a  subject  to  dilate  upon.  Never  surely,  since 
the  wide  doors  of  Cambridge  University  were  opened  to 
all  comers,  had  any  of  its  members  been  placed  in  a 
more  disagreeable  position.  Looking  back  on  this  try- 
ing time  in  after  years,  Lucius  wondered  how  he  could 
ever  have  endured  life  at  Cambridge  for  a  single  day. 
But  he  had  attained  to  that  state  of  sympathetic  in- 
timacy with  his  cousin  in  which  he  could  pour  out  some 
of  his  troubles  to  her  when  they  met,  and  be  gently  but 
effectually  consoled  for  them.  Betty  had  never  met 
Mr.  Binney,  but  she  knew  him  by  sight,  and  nourished 
a  fierce  and  bitter  enmity  towards  him. 

Lucius  met  his  cousin,  on  the  morning  after  his 
father's  fall,  outside  the  lecture  room  of  St.  John's 
College,  where  she  was  engaged  for  an  hour  three  morn- 
ings in  the  week.  The  other  girls  who  were  with  her 
gave  Lucius  a  glance  and  then  hurried  off  through  the 
gate,  leaving  them  alone. 

"  Good-bye,  Lucius,"  she  said  hastily,  "  I  must  go. 
I  don't  know  what  those  girls  are  running  away  for 
like  that." 

"  Do  let  me  walk  back  with  you,  Betty,"  said  Lucius. 

I'm  so  beastly  miserable,  I  don't  know  what  to  do." 

"  Very  well,  then.  Just  for  once,"  said  Betty,  after 
a  look  at  his  face.     "  We'll  go  along  the  Backs." 


(( 


£80  TETER  BINNEY 

"  I  suppose  you  haven't  heard  about  my  father  last 
night,  have  you?  "  asked  Lucius,  as  they  made  their 
way  across  the  bridge. 

"No.     What  about  him?"  asked  Betty. 

"  I  really  sometimes  think  he's  going  off  his  head," 
said  Lucius  despondently.  ''  He  was  so  pleased  at  his 
boat  going  head  of  the  river  that  he  gave  a  great  feed. 
There  was  a  terrific  row.  In  the  middle  of  it  the  old 
fool  I  have  to  go  and  hear  preach  at  home  turned  up. 
Goodness  knows  what  brought  him.  He  came  to  see  me 
this  morning  just  after  breakfast,  and  seems  to  think 
I  must  have  been  in  it  too,  although  he  knew  I  wasn't 
there.  He  began  a  long  solemn  jaw,  but  I  was  so  sick 
I  shut  him  up.  He's  an  awful  old  outsider,  and  he's 
got  nothing  to  do  with  me,  even  if  I  had  done  something 
he  didn't  approve  of,  which  I  haven't." 

"But  it  doesn't  matter  what  he  thinks,  docs  it?" 
asked  Betty  with  all  the  scorn  of  the  rector's  daughter 
against  a  member  of  a  usurping  caste. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Lucius  dubiously.  "  His  wife 
is  a  spiteful  old  woman.  Of  course  it  will  get  to  her 
ears  and  then  it  will  be  all  over  the  place.  There's 
one  good  thing,  I  have  been  away  from  home  such  a 
lot,  and  have  so  many  friends  outside,  that  it  won't 
matter  so  nmch  to  me  as  it  might  have  done.  But  it 
will  be  awful  for  the  poor  old  governor.  I  don't  think 
he  knows  what  he's  laying  up  for  himself." 

"  Oh,  I  shouldn't  bother  my  head  about  him  if  I  were 


NEMESIS  »21 

you,''  said  Betty  airily.  "  It's  his  own  fault,  and  he's 
got  himself  to  thank  for  it.  It's  you  I'm  thinking  of." 
Then  she  blushed  a  little. 

Lucius  blushed  too.  "  You  are  so  awfully  kind,"  he 
began,  "  and " 

"  Yes.     Thank  you,"  interrupted  Betty,  hastily. 

"  But  I  really  shouldn't  know  what  to  do  if  it  wasn't 
for  you,"  persisted  Lucius.     "  It's  like " 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  interrupted  Betty  again.  "  But 
you  haven't  told  me  all  about  last  night  yet,  have 
you.''  " 

"  No,"  said  Lucius,  his  face  falling  again.  "  The 
row  reached  such  a  pitch  that  the  Proctors  came  in. 
My  gyp  told  me  that  the  governor  was  going  to  be 
hauled  this  morning,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  were 
sent  down." 

"  Well,  that  will  be  all  the  better  for  you,  won't  it?  " 
inquired  Betty,  unmoved  at  the  awful   announcement. 

"  I  don't  know.  I  haven't  thought  of  that  yet," 
Lucius  admitted.  "  But  I'm  afraid  it  will  kill  the  poor 
old  governor.  I  shall  go  and  see  him  when  I  get  back. 
I'm  awfully  sorry  for  him,  although  he  has  been  so  tire- 
some.    But  don't  let's  talk  any  more  about  it.     We're 

nearly  there.     I  say,  Betty " 

I  think   you'd   better  go   back  now,"   said  Betty. 

You've  come  quite  far  enough,"  and  Lucius  was  not 
bold  enough  to  disobey  her. 

He  found  Mr.  Binney  just  returned  from  his  visit 


222  PETER  BINNEY 

to  his  Tutor.  "  It's  all  over,  Lucius.  I'm  sent  down," 
he  said  hopelessly. 

Lucius  was  at  a  loss  for  words.  The  humour  of  the 
situation  suddenly  struck  him,  and  he  had  hard  work 
to  prevent  himself  smiling. 

"  I've  been  a  bad  father  to  you,  my  boy,"  went  on 
Mr.  BInney.  "  I  see  it  all  now.  I  wish  I  had  behaved 
differently.  But  it  is  too  late.  All  is  over.  The  blow 
has  fallen.     I  am  a  disgraced  man." 

"  Oh,  come,  cheer  up,  father,"  said  Lucius.  "  I 
should  think  they  would  give  you  another  show  if  you 
promise  to  keep  quiet  in  future." 

"  No,  they  won't,"  said  Mr.  BInney.  "  They  think 
I  am  spoiling  your  chances  at  Cambridge.  And  they 
are  quite  right — oh,  absolutely  right." 

"  What  nonsense,"  said  Lucius.  "  Is  it  only  on  my 
account  they  have  sent  you  down?  " 

"  That  clicifly,"  said  Mr.  BInney,  with  the  calm  voice 
of  despair.  "  But  they  liave  lost  faith  in  me.  And 
quite  right  too.     Oh,  quite  right." 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you  what,  father,"  said  Lucius,  "  I'll 
go  and  see  RImlngton  and  ask  him  to  give  you  another 
chance.  We're  rather  pals,  and  he  might  listen,  al- 
though it's  rather  cheek  my  tackling  him." 

"  Oh,  Lucius,  if  you  only  would,"  exclaimed  Mr.  BIn- 
ney, grasping  his  son  eagerly  by  the  arm.  "  I  believe 
he  would  listen  to  you.  I  do  really,  and  it's  my  only 
chance.     I  thought  this  morning  that  I  shouldn't  care 


NEMESIS  223 

to  stay  at  Cambridge  any  longer  after  what  has  hap- 
pened. But  I  can't  bear  the  thought  of  going  down 
like  this.     It  is  too  awful." 

"  Of  course  not,"  said  Lucius.     "  I'll  go  at  once." 

Mr.  Rimington  was  still  receiving  when  Lucius  pre- 
sented himself  in  his  anteroom.  After  a  time  he  found 
himself  cordially  greeted  by  his  father's  Tutor,  and 
sat  down  without  an  idea  as  to  how  he  should  begin 
what  he  had  to  say. 

"  I've  come  about  my  father,"  he  said,  reddening 
and  playing  with  the  tassel  of  his  cap.  "  I  hope  you'll 
give  him  another  chance,  sir.  It  wasn't  altogether  his 
fault  that  all  the  noise  was  made  last  night,  and  he'll 
be  very  careful  that  it  doesn't  happen  again.  It  will 
be  rather  unpleasant  for  me  if  he  is  sent  down,"  he 
added. 

"  Has  vour  father  asked  you  to  come  to  me.''  "  asked 
Mr.  Rimington. 

"  No,"   said  Lucius,  "  I   come  of  my  own   accord." 

"  Wouldn't  you  be  happier  up  here  if  your  father 
were — ^were  at  home,  Binney?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  be  any  happier  if  people  could  say  he 
had  been  sent  down.  In  fact,  I  don't  think  I  could 
stand  it.  He'll  keep  pretty  well  in  the  background 
after  this,  I  should  think,  and  I  don't  much  mind  his 
being  up  here  if  he  does  that." 

"  I  can't  hold  out  any  hopes  of  our  decision  being 
altered,"  said  Mr.  Rimington  after  a  pause.     "  It  is 


224  PETER  BINNEY 

not  I  alone  who  am  responsible  for  it.  But  I  tliink  that 
your  wishes  in  the  matter  should  certainly  be  consid- 
ered. I  can't  say  more  than  that  at  present,  and,  as 
I  say,  your  father  had  better  not  entertain  any  hopes 
of  our  decision  being  reversed.  If  there  is  anything 
more  to  say,  I  will  write  to  him  in  London." 

With  this  slender  thread  of  hope  Mr.  Binney  travelled 
home  to  Russell  Square  that  afternoon  in  sad  and  lonely 
dejection.  His  head  still  ached  after  his  excesses  of 
the  previous  niglit,  and  his  mood  was  so  dark  that  he 
put  off  the  confession  which  he  knew  he  should  have  to 
make  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham,  until  the  next  morning. 
As  he  dined  in  solitary  state  that  evening,  attended  by 
his  neat  and  soft-footed  maids,  he  found  himself  won- 
dering how  the  habits  and  customs  of  twenty  years 
could  have  broken  down  so  completely  under  the  in- 
fluence of  new  surroundings.  Two  years  ago  he  would 
have  been  the  first  to  hold  up  pious  hands  of  horror 
at  the  mere  mention  of  an  orgie  such  as  he  had  taken 
part  in  the  night  before.  And,  having  returned  once 
more  to  his  accustomed  manner  of  life,  he  felt  just  as 
far  apart  from  it  as  he  would  have  done  then.  But 
he  could  not  keep  his  thoughts  away  for  long  from  the 
dark  fact  that  he  had  just  been  expelled  from  the  Uni- 
versity for  continuous  bad  conduct,  and  it  will  be  agreed 
that  this  cannot  have  been  a  pleasant  recollection  for  a 
middle-aged  gcntk'man  with  a  grown-up  son. 

Dr.  Toller  had  promised  Mr.  Binney  that  he  would 


NEMESIS  225 

keep  to  himself  all  mention  of  the  scene  he  had  sur- 
prised. His  doing  so  was  only  another  example  of  the 
eternal  self-complaisance  of  human  nature.  Dr.  Toller 
was  about  as  capable  of  keeping  anything  to  himself 
that  his  wife  wanted  to  hear  about,  as  a  puppy  is  of 
holding  a  stick  that  its  master  wants  to  take  away. 
At  twelve  o'clock  Dr.  Toller  returned  from  Cambridge 
to  the  wife  of  his  bosom.  By  a  quarter  past,  Mrs. 
Toller  was  in  possession  of  the  main  outlines  of  his 
story,  which  had  been  filled  in  before  the  half  hour 
struck  by  all  the  details  that  Dr.  Toller's  memory 
could  supply. 

"  You  won't  tell  anyone  else  what  has  happened,  my 
dear,  will  you?"  said  Dr.  Toller,  when  his  wife  had 
extracted  all  the  information  from  him  he  was  capable 
of  affording. 

"  I  shall  tell  what  I  please  to  whomsoever  I  please," 
said  Mrs.  Toller, 

"But,  my  dear,  my  promise,"  expostulated  the 
doctor. 

"  Bother  your  promise ! "  said  Mrs.  Toller,  as  she 
went  out  of  the  room. 

After  breakfast  the  next  morning  Mr.  Binney,  to 
whom  another  day  had  brought  no  cessation  of  the 
gnawing  pains  of  remorse,  took  his  courage  in  both 
hands,  and  putting  on  his  hat  and  coat,  went  round 
to  Woburn  Square. 

The  maid  who  opened  the  door  to  him  gave  a  little 


226  PETER  BINNEY 

start.  "  Mrs.  Hi^<rinh()thani  is  not  at  home,  sir,"  she 
said.  "  But  she  tohl  nie  to  give  you  this  little  parcel 
if  you  happened  to  call." 

Mr.  Binney  took  the  parcel,  neatly  tied  up  and 
directed  in  Mrs.  Hig^inhotham's  well-known  writing. 
"Do  you  know  when  Mrs.  lligginbotham  will  be  in?" 
he  asked. 

The  maid  hesitated.  "  She  told  me  to  say  she  was 
not  at  home,  sir,"  she  repeated  awkwardly,  and  Mr. 
Binney  went  down  the  steps  with  the  terrible  realisation 
hammering  at  his  brain,  that  Mrs.  Higginbotham  had 
licard  of  his  disgrace  and  refused  to  receive  him. 

He  waited  until  he  had  returned  to  the  seclusion  of 
his  own  library  before  he  opened  the  packet  which  she 
had  directed  to  him. 

It  contained  all  the  letters  he  had  ever  written  to  her. 


CHAPTER  XV 

liUCIUS   FINDS  A  BACKWATER 

It  was  ten  o'clock  of  a  late  April  morning,  one  of  those 
hot  sunny  days  which  sometimes  make  it  not  unfitting 
that  the  term  which  in  Cambridge  begins  in  April  and 
ends  in  the  middle  of  June  should  be  known  as  the  Sum- 
mer Term.  The  morning  in  Cambridge,  as  has  been 
explained,  is  usually  devoted  to  books,  but  here  was 
Mr.  Lucius  Binney  of  Trinity  College  in  a  very  light 
grey  flannel  suit  and  a  straw  hat  apparently  making 
preparations  for  some  sort  of  an  expedition.  He  had 
collected  from  different  corners  of  the  room  a  Japanese 
umbrella,  two  plethoric  silken  cushions  and  a  large  box 
of  chocolate  creams.  He  put  them  down  on  the  table 
and  looked  for  a  moment  longingly  at  his  collection  of 
pipes,  but  finally  contented  himself  with  filling  a  ciga- 
rette case,  which  he  slipped  into  his  pocket.  At  this 
juncture  a  step  was  heard  approaching.  Lucius  had 
just  time  to  cover  the  box  of  chocolate  creams  with  a 
cushion  before  the  door  was  opened  and  Mr.  Benjamin 
Stubbs  entered  the  room.  He  was  in  cap  and  gown 
and  carried  a  notebook. 

"Holloa!"    he    exclaimed,    "going    on    the    Backs? 
Not  a  bad  idea  this  fine  morning.     I've  a  good  mind  to 

cut  lecture  and  come  with  you." 

227 


^^  PETER  BINNEY 

"  Oh  I  shouldn't  do  that,  Dizzy,  if  I  were  you,"  said 
Lucius,  "  you'd  better  go  and  hear  what  Mansell  has 
got  to  say.     I  can  crib  your  notes  afterwards." 

"  We  can  both  crib  'em  off  Hare,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I 
should  like  a  paddle  in  a  canoe.  Lend  us  a  hat  and  I'll 
leave  these  things  here." 

"  I  haven't  got  another  hat  except  that  one  with  the 
Third  Trinity  colours  and  you  can't  wear  that." 

"  Well,  you  Juggins,  you  can  wear  that  and  lend  me 
the  one  you've  got  on." 

"The  other  doesn't  fit  me  very  well,"  objected 
Lucius. 

"  What  rot !  why,  you  wear  it  every  day.  I'll  tell 
you  what  it  is,  3'oung  man,  you've  got  some  game  on 
and  you  don't  want  me  to  come.     AVhat  is  it?  " 

Dizzy  here  took  up  one  of  the  cushions  on  the  table 
and  disclosed  the  box  of  chocolates  which  it  hid.  En- 
lightenment diffused  itself  over  his  intelligent  features. 

"  Oh,  I  see,  yes,"  he  said,  "  Good  morning,  Binney, 
I'm  afraid  I  shall  be  late  for  lecture."  And  ho  betook 
himself  out  of  the  room. 

"  Silly  ass !  "  soliloquised  Lucius.  Then  he  gathered 
up  his  properties  and  made  his  way  out  across  the 
Great  Court,  which  lay  wide  and  still  beneath  a  smiling 
April  sky,  through  the  Hostel  and  down  the  narrow 
lane  which  leads  to  tlie  river  and  the  raft,  where  in 
summer-time  a  flotilla  of  boats  and  canoes  is  moored 
under  the  trees.     Lucius  selected  a  Canadian  canoe  and 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         229 

deposited  a  cushion  at  either  end,  supplementing  those 
supplied  by  the  boatmen.  The  chocolate  creams  he 
stowed  carefully  behind  his  own  cushion,  and  taking  his 
seat  pushed  out  into  the  open  water  through  the  maze 
of  pleasure  boats  which  stretched  half-way  across  the 
river.  He  was  almost  alone  on  the  water.  The  rooks 
cawed  in  the  high  elms  which  fringe  the  pleasant  gar- 
dens by  the  river,  the  whirr  of  a  mowing  machine  came 
from  some  unseen  lawn  close  by ;  there  was  an  idle  sum- 
mer feeling  in  the  air.  Lucius  paddled  in  a  leisurely 
manner  up  the  river,  past  the  terraced  gardens  of 
Trinity  Hall,  the  prow  of  his  canoe  breaking  up  the 
reflection  of  the  beautiful  Clare  Bridge  as  he  passed 
under  it,  along  the  spacious  level  lawn  of  King's  and 
under  the  King's  bridge  into  the  darker  waters  bounded 
by  the  old  buildings  of  Queens'.  The  illicit  tinkling  of 
a  piano  came  from  an  open  window  in  the  new  King's 
buildings  and  two  men  leant  idly  on  the  parapet  of  the 
bridge  and  watched  him  as  he  paddled  slowly  under- 
neath. When  he  reached  the  wooden  bridge  of  Queens', 
the  bridge  which  Sir  Isaac  Newton  is  said  to  have 
erected  without  a  bolt  or  nut,  he  turned  round  and 
dropped  down  the  river  again.  As  he  neared  the 
King's  bridge  he  pulled  out  his  watch. 

"  She  said  half-past  ten,"  he  murmured  to  himself. 
"  I  suppose  she  is  bound  to  be  a  bit  late.     Girls   al- 


>j 


ways  are. 

He  lay  back  on  his  cushions  and  allowed  the  canoe 


230  PETER  BINNEY 

to  drift.  Opposite  to  him  was  the  entrance  to  a  back- 
water, arched  over  with  trees,  and  crossed  by  a  wooden 
bridge.  Lucius  surveyed  it  idly.  "  I  wonder  if  she 
will  come  down  there  with  me,"  he  said  to  himself. 

At  this  moment  a  fair  vision  of  youth  and  beauty  in 
diaphanous  sunmier  draperies  came  into  sight  on  the 
river  bank  just  above  him.  Lucius  sprang  out  on  to 
the  bank  and  knelt  down  on  the  grass  to  hold  the  canoe 
for  the  fair  vision  to  step  into  it.  It  was  his  cousin 
Betty.  She  looked  cool  and  fresh  and  not  at  all  as  if 
she  was  doing  a  very  bold  thing  as  she  stepped  into 
the  wobbly  craft  and  settled  herself  on  the  cushions 
opposite  him. 

"  This  is  ripping,  Betty,"  said  Lucius.  "  It  is  most 
charming  of  you  to  come  out  with  me  like  this." 

"  You  don't  think  I  came  for  the  pleasure  of  your 
company,  do  you  ?  "  inquired  Betty. 

"  Oh,  no,  not  in  the  least." 

"  How  conceited  you  are !  You  know  you  do 
think  it." 

"  I  assure  you,  Betty,  it  never  entered  my  head. 
When  a  girl  writes  to  her  cousin  and  asks  him  to  take 
her  out  on  the  river,  he  would  be  a  conceited  ass,  as 
you  say,  to  imagine  for  a  moment  that  she  wanted  to 
go  with  him." 

"  I  didn't  say  I  didn't  want  to  go  with  you.  If  I 
must  go  at  all  I  would  just  as  soon  go  with  you  as 
any  one." 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         231 


a 


I  don't  know  that  there's  any  necessity  for  you  to 
go  at  all  if  you  don't  want  to." 

"  Ah,  but  you  don't  know  everything." 

"  Why  did  you  come,  then  ?  " 

"  I'll  tell  you  when  we  get  back  again.  Now  paddle 
up  to  the  Bridge  of  Sighs." 

"  How  mysterious  you  are !  But  there's  no  hurry. 
Let  us  go  down  this  little  backwater.  You  can't  think 
how  jolly  it  is.  There  are  shady  trees  on  one  side  and 
a  field  with  daisies  and  cows  and  buttercups  and  things 
on  the  other." 

"  No  thank  you,  I  don't  want  to  go  down  a  back- 
water.    I  want  to  paddle  down  to  St.  John's  and  back." 

"WOiat  for?" 

«  I  shan't  tell  you  yet." 

"  Then  I  shan't  paddle." 

"  How  tiresome  you  are,  Lucius !  You  spoil  all  my 
pleasure  in  your  society." 

"You  said  you  didn't  take  any  pleasure  in  my  so- 
ciety just  now." 

"  No  more  I  do.  Now  paddle  along,  there's  a  good 
boy." 

"  Who  is  that  female  on  the  bank  taking  such  an 
interest  in  us  ?  " 

"  She  isn't  a  female.  Don't  be  rude.  She's  one  of  my 
particular  friends.    Now  go  on  please." 

"What  is  she  doing  there.''  Why  doesn't  she  go 
home?" 


232  TETER  13INNEY 

"  She  will,  when  wc  have  been  up  to  the  Bridge  of 
Sighs  and  back,  and  I  shall  go  with  her.  Now  do 
paddle  on  and  be  quick.  I  shall  get  into  a  row,  you 
know,  if  anyone  else  sees  me  here." 

"  I  shan't  go  on  until  you  tell  me  what  all  this  is 
about.  Don't  get  into  a  temper.  If  you  kick  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat  like  that  your  foot  will  go  through  and 
we  shall  both  be  in  the  water." 

"  You  really  are  too  provoking,  Lucius.  I'll  never 
speak  to  you  again  if  you  don't  go  on  directly." 

Lucius  began  to  paddle  on  slowly.  "  Now,  tell  me," 
he  said,  "  why  you  wanted  to  come." 

"  Well,  if  you  must  know,  that  girl  betted  me  a  box 
of  chocolates  that  I  wouldn't,  and  I  do  love  them  so 
and  I've  spent  all  last  quarter's  allowance  and  can't 
afford  to  buy  any.  Now  do  go  on,  Lucius,  there's  a 
good  bo}'.  We  have  only  got  to  get  up  to  the  Bridge 
of  Sighs  and  back,  and  I  shall  get  them." 

Lucius  stopped  again.  *'  I  don't  know  that  I  want 
you  to  get  them  particularly,"  he  said,  "  after  what 
you  have  said  about  not  wanting  to  come  with  me. 
Didn't  you  want  to  come  with  me  a  bit?  " 

"  No,  of  course  not." 

"Not  a  little  bit.?" 

"  No." 

"  Then  I  shan't  go  on." 

"  Oh — oh — oh !  I  feel  as  if  I  should  like  to  throw 
something  at  you." 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         2S3 

"Well,  why  don't  you?  Look,  there's  the  girl  on 
the  bank  grinning  at  you.  How  pleased  she'll  be  if  I 
let  her  win." 

"  Horrid  thing,  she  is !  But  I  hate  you  worse  still. 
I  feel  as  if  I  could  do  anything  to  you  now." 

"What,  hurt  poor  little  Cousin  Lucy.?  Oh,  Betty, 
for  shame !  " 

"  Well,  if  you  won't  go  on,  turn  back  then,  and  I'll 
get  out.  Only  I'll  never  speak  to  you  again  as  long 
as  I  live." 

"  I  say,  Betty,  are  you  very  fond  of  choco- 
lates?" 

"  Yes,  I  am,  but  I  wouldn't  sit  here  for  another  five 
minutes  for  all  the  chocolates  in  the  world.  Turn  round 
and  go  back,  please." 

Lucius  put  his  hand  behind  his  back,  and  drew  out 
the  big  box  already  mentioned. 

"  Look  here ;  let's  stop  and  eat  these  here,  while 
that  girl  looks  on.  Then  we'll  go  up  to  St.  John's 
and  back  and  you  can  have  hers  too." 

This  plan  commended  itself  to  Betty,  and  she  spent 
a  happy  ten  minutes  while  the  girl  on  the  bank  strolled 
about  and  pretended  to  be  admiring  the  Chapel  of 
King's  and  the  beautiful  College  of  Clare,  which  are 
both  seen  to  advantage  at  the  point  where  the  canoe 
had  stopped. 

There  is  a  time  when  even  Buszard's  most  expensive 
confections  cease  to  charm.     When  this  time  had  ar- 


2ii-i>  PETER  BINNEY 

rived  for  Bcttj,  she  said,  "  I  don't  much  care  if  I  don't 
get  the  others  now,  but  I  know  I  shall  want  them  to- 
morrow, so  paddle  on,  Lucius.  I'm  much  more  pleased 
with  jou  now," 

"  Thank  you,  Betty,"  said  Lucius,  and  the  canoe  pro- 
ceeded on  its  way,  under  the  Clare,  Hostel,  and  Trinity 
Bridges  witli  the  graceful  willows  sweeping  the  water, 
round  the  curve  where  the  classical  front  of  the  Trinity 
library  looks  severely  towards  the  paddocks  and  the 
elms,  and  under  the  wall  of  the  Master  of  Trinity's 
garden,  where  a  blossoming  tree  showed  a  mass  of  deli- 
cate pink  against  the  red-tile  gables  of  Neville's  Court, 
under  yet  another  bridge  flanked  by  the  stone  eagles 
of  St.  John's,  and  between  the  walls  of  that  college 
until  they  reached  their  goal,  the  covered  bridge,  which, 
through  no  merit  of  its  own,  has  usurped  the  name 
of  the  Bridge  of  Sighs. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Betty.  "  Now  be  quick  and  get 
back.  What  a  sell  for  that  girl !  and  we  haven't  met 
anybody  to  matter  either." 

"  Plenty  of  time  for  that.  We've  got  to  get  all  the 
way  back  again.  I  didn't  tell  you  before,  because  I 
thought  you  would  be  frightened,  but  you  remember 
Dizzy  whom  you  met  in  niv  rooms  last  term  when  your 
mother  was  up  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  hope  he  isn't  coming  out,  is  he?  " 
*  Well,  I'm  afraid  he  is.     It's  an  old  standing  en- 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         296 

gagement ;  he  promised  to  row  a  party  of  Newnham 
dons — seven  of  them — on  the  Backs  this  morning." 

For  one  moment  Betty's  face  blanched  with  terror. 
Then  she  said,  "  You  are  a  donkey,  Lucius.  Hurry 
up,  please." 

But  Lucius  wasn't  going  to  hurry  up.  He  was  very 
well  content  with  his  present  position.  Betty  reclined 
opposite  to  him  in  a  graceful  attitude,  the  brilliant 
colour  of  the  Japanese  umbrella  a  setting  to  her  pretty 
face. 

"Why  did  you  put  on  that  pretty  frock.''"  asked 
Lucius. 

"  Because  it  is  so  hot;  just  like  summer." 

"  I  know  why  you  put  it  on." 

"  Of  course  you  do  when  I've  just  told  you." 

"  You  put  it  on  because  you  wanted  me  to  think  how 
pretty  you  looked  in  it." 

"  I  didn't  do  anything  of  the  sort.  Don't  be  so 
silly." 

"  You  do  look  awfully  pretty  in  it,  you  know." 

"  Now,  Lucius,  if  you  begin  saying  that  sort  of  thing 
I  shall  get  out." 

"  All  right.  The  river  is  shallow  here.  It  won't 
come  much  above  your  shoulders." 

"  Be  quiet,  and  go  on." 

"  I  am  going  on.     I  say,  Betty !  " 

"  Well?  " 


2S6  TETER  BINNEY 

"  Do  you  remember  those  lectures  last  October 
term?" 

"  Yes,  pretty  well ;  I've  got  the  notes  of  them  at 
home  if  you  want  them." 

"  Bother  the  notes !  Do  you  remember  how  regular 
I  was?  " 

"How  should  I?     I  didn't  know  you  then." 

"  Oh,  you  wicked  story !  You  knew  who  I  was  per- 
fectly well,  you  little  witch,  and  you  let  me  go  on  like 
that  for  two  whole  terms  without  making  a  sign.  It 
■was  cruel  of  you." 

"  Well,  did  you  expect  me  to  stop  you  in  the  street 
and  say  I  was  your  cousin,  when  you  had  never  taken 
the  trouble  to  call  on  me  ?  " 

"  You  know  I  thought  you  were  at  Girton.  Father 
said  you  were,  and  there  is  someone  called  German 
there." 

"  Yes,  and  you  went  to  Girton  such  a  lot,  didn't 
you?  " 

"  I  could  swear  now  when  I  think  what  an  idiot  I 
was." 

"  Then  don't  do  it,  please,  although  I  quite  agree 
with  you.  And,  of  course,  you  were  much  too  grand 
to  come  and  see  us  at  Christmas." 

"  Confound  it !  I  say,  Betty,  was  it  you  who  got 
me  asked  there  ?  " 

"  I  certainly  shouldn't  think  of  doing  so  again.     And 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         237 

it  was  mother  who  asked  you  last  vacation.  I  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it." 

"  Then  it  was  you.     Betty,  you  are  a  dar " 

"  Now,  then,  be  quiet,  please." 

"  You  and  John  are  coming  to  us  in  town  for  a 
week,  directly  after  term." 

"  Poor  old  John.  I  wonder  whatever  he  would  saj 
if  he  saw  me  now !  " 

They  had  now  passed  Clare  again,  and  were  gliding 
slowly  along  between  the  pleasant  meadow  and  the  great 
lawn  towards  King's  bridge. 

"  I  say,  Betty,"  said  Lucius,  "  I  don't  want  to 
frighten  you,  but  who  is  that  on  the  bridge?  " 

"  I  should  think  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  Principal 
of  Newnham  waiting  for  us,"  answered  Betty  without 
turning  round. 

"  No,  but  really,  I  do  believe  it  is  John." 

Betty  turned  round  and  saw  a  man  in  a  straw 
hat  with  a  green  and  black  ribbon  leaning  over  the 
bridge. 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  she  said,  blushing  scarlet,  but  speaking 
quite  unconcernedly,  "  he  ought  to  be  working.  I  shall 
blow  him  up  for  it." 

"  Shall  we  turn  round?     He  hasn't  spotted  us  yet." 

"Turn  round?  Whatever  for?  You  don't  suppose 
I'm  frightened  of  John,  do  you?  " 

"  I  don't  know.     You  look  rather  as  if  you  were." 

"  Of  course  I'm  not.     But  I  don't  know  what  he  will 


238  PETER  BINNEY 

think,  and  I  should  look  so  idiotic  if  1  began  to  ex- 
plain." 

"  What  about  that  backwater?  " 
Is  it  verj  pretty?  " 

Yes,  very.  Hold  your  umbrella  towards  the  bridge 
as  we  go  round  the  corner  and  he  won't  see  you.  I'll 
pull  my  hat  over  my  face." 

So  the  canoe  glided  under  the  little  wooden  bridge 
and  into  the  still,  shaded  water  beyond. 

The  other  girl,  who  was  still  walking  about  along 
the  river  bank,  and  had  seen  it  disappear,  waited  for  an 
hour,  and  then  went  away  furious,  half  intending  to 
report  Miss  Betty  Jcrmyn  to  the  authorities  of  her 
college.  Directly  she  had  gone,  the  canoe  came  shding 
out  into  the  river  again. 

Betty  was  speaking. 

"  I  shouldn't  much  mind  if  John  did  see  us  now, 
should  you,  Lucius?  " 

"  Not  a  bit,  darling,"  answered  the  happy  Lucius. 
"  But  it  wasn't  John  at  all.  I  looked  when  you  were 
holding  the  umbrella  in  front  of  your  face." 

Our  narrative  has  dwelt  so  long  on  a  series  of  pain- 
ful and  discreditable  events,  that  it  is  hoped  that  the 
account  of  how  Lucius  and  Betty,  boy  and  girl  as  they 
were,  made  up  their  minds  to  spend  their  lives  together, 
may  have  dissipated  the  gloom  which  the  sympathetic 
reader  will  have  experienced  in  following  the  chequered 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         239 

career  of  Mr.  Binne3\  We  must  now  go  back  a  little 
and  fill  up  the  gap  which  we  have  left  between  the  end 
of  February  and  the  end  of  April. 

And  first  let  us  say  that  the  very  time  Lucius  and 
Betty  were  cooing  like  a  pair  of  young  doves  in  the 
seclusion  of  that  backwater  of  the  Cam,  which  now 
holds  for  them  more  tender  memories  than  any  other 
spot  in  the  world,  Mr.  Binney  was  still  in  evidence  as 
an  undergraduate  member  of  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge. Lucius's  plea  had  been  successful.  A  week 
after  Mr.  Binney's  return  to  Russell  Square  he  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Mr.  Rimington,  to  inform  him  that 
he  might  come  up  again  at  the  beginning  of  the  fol- 
lowing term,  but  that  the  slightest  breach  of  discipline 
on  his  part  in  the  future  would  mean  a  sentence  of  in- 
stant dismissal  from  which  there  would  be  no  appeal. 

But  alas !  this  letter,  welcome  as  its  contents  were, 
did  not  suffice  to  raise  Mr.  Binney  from  the  despondency 
into  which  he  had  fallen.  After  the  receipt  of  Mrs. 
Higginbotham's  mute  but  eloquent  dismissal  he  had 
passed  a  week  of  such  black  despair  that  he  could  never 
look  back  upon  it  in  after  life  without  shuddering. 
He  had  beaten  his  wings  against  the  doors  of  Mrs. 
Higginbotham's  dwelling,  but  in  vain.  There  was  no 
admittance  for  him.  He  had  importuned  her  by  post. 
His  letters  remained  unanswered.  He  scarcely  knew 
how  to  bear  the  hard  fate  that  he  had  brought  upon 
himself.     He  was  all  alone  in  the  house,  for  Lucius  had 


240  TETER  BINNEY 

gone  straight  from  Cambridge  to  Norfolk,  and  was  now 
engaged  in  the  Reverend  Mr.  Jermyn's  pleasant  rec- 
tory liouse  and  garden  in  laying  the  train  which  event- 
ually culminated  in  the  scene  between  him  and  Betty 
recounted  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter.  He  would 
have  gone  down  to  his  place  of  business,  but  he  was 
ashamed  to  face  his  manager  and  his  clerks.  He 
thought  that  every  one  would  know  he  had  been  sent 
down  from  Cambridge. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  particular  event  of  his  Uni- 
versity career  never  did  become  known  to  any  but  a 
very  few.  Even  Mrs.  Toller  did  not  know  it,  altliough 
Mr.  Binncy  was  convinced  that  she  must  have  done,  for 
she  cut  him  pointedly  in  Gower  Street  one  afternoon 
as  he  crept  miserably  along  taking  a  little  air  and  exer- 
cise, and  audibly  instructed  her  daughter  to  do  the 
same,  as  Mr.  Binncy  raised  his  hat. 

After  that  he  was  not  surprised  to  receive  a  letter 
from  his  fellow  deacons  of  Dr.  Toller's  chapel  request- 
ing him  to  resign  his  office,  which  he  did  that  day  with 
an  added  pang  of  shame,  and  resolved  that,  as  he  had 
now  made  the  Baptist  community  too  hot  to  hold  him, 
he  would  become  a  Wesleyan  Methodist,  and  work  his 
way  up  to  a  position  of  authority  in  that  body.  He 
also  made  up  his  mind  to  let  the  house  in  Russell  Square, 
which  was  far  too  large  for  himself  and  Lucius,  and 
take  a  flat  in  Earl's  Court,  since  Mrs.  Higginbotham 
seemed  to  be  made  of  adamant,  and  there  seemed  very 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         241 

little  chance  now  of  her  ever  gracing  his  establishment. 
With  all  these  wrenches  in  his  life,  actual  and  imminent, 
it  may  be  imagined  that  Mr.  Binney  was  not  a  happy 
man  at  this  time. 

When  Mr.  Rimington's  letter  came,  he  decided  to 
make  one  more  appeal  to  Mrs.  Higginbotham.  He  told 
her  that  he  was  going  back  to  Cambridge,  and  intended 
to  lead  a  very  different  life  in  the  future  from  that 
of  the  past.  Might  he  nourish  a  hope  that  if  he  did 
something  to  make  up  for  past  disgrace,  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginbotham would  forgive  him  and  smile  on  him  once 
more  ? 

To  his  intense  relief  and  tearful  joy  Mrs.  Higgin- 
botham replied  to  his  letter.  It  appeared  that  he  was 
not  to  be  debarred  from  all  hope.  But  he  was  not  to 
be  allowed  to  see  Mrs.  Higginbotham  again  until  he 
had  done  something  definite  at  Cambridge  to  atone  for 
his  past  misconduct. 

"  I  do  not  mean  success  in  your  play-hours,  Peter," 
wrote  Mrs.  Higginbotham.  "  That  you  have  already 
attained,  and  it  has  been  the  means  of  leading  you 
astray.  Such  success  as  that  will  never  restore  my 
lost  confidence  in  you.  You  must  come  to  be  well 
spoken  of  by  masters  and  pupils  alike.  You  must  rise 
to  the  top  of  your  classes,  and  acquit  yourself  well  in 
your  examinations.  When  you  have  done  that  you 
may  come  and  see  me  again.  Until  then  the  memory 
of  the  dreadful  trouble  you  have  brought  upon  your- 


g4f2  PETER  BINNEY 

self  and  upon  me,  who  trusted  you,  must  abide  with 
me.  I  do  not  wish  to  load  you  with  reproaches.  Your 
own  conscience  must  be  a  very  heavy  burden  for  you 
to  bear.  But  I  could  not  bear  to  see  you  with  the 
account  that  one  who  shall  be  nameless  gave  me  of  your 
conduct  and  appearances  still  fresh  in  my  memory." 

Mr,  Blnney  stifled  his  renewed  feelings  of  remorse 
and  wrote  to  ask  if  the  passing  of  his  Little-go  in  the 
following  June  might  be  considered  a  passport  to  Mrs. 
Higginbotham's  society?  Mrs,  Higglnbotham  replied. 
Yes.  If  he  passed  that  examination  well  and  behaved 
immaculately  in  the  meantime  he  might  consider  himself 
on  the  old  footing  with  her.  So  Mr.  Binncy  took  heart, 
re-engaged  the  useful  Minshull  and  retired  to  Cornwall 
for  the  Easter  vacation,  where  he  ploughed  away  at 
his  studies  so  energetically  that  Minshull  held  out  hopes 
of  his  attaining  a  second  class  in  one  part  at  least  of 
the  examination. 

\Anicn  Lucius  paddled  his  canoe  out  of  the  backwater 
with  Betty  sitting  opposite  to  him  in  a  flutter  of  dimples 
and  happiness,  there  was  literally  no  cloud  on  his  ho- 
rizon. He  had  been  up  at  Cambridge  now  for  three 
weeks  and  his  father  had  never  once  given  him  occasion 
to  wish  himself  away.  Mr.  Binney  behaved  himself  irre- 
proachably. In  fact,  if  he  had  kept  himself  in  the 
background  as  he  was  doing  now  from  the  time  he  had 
entered  the  University,  Lucius  would  have  had  no  rea- 
ison  to  be  ashamed  of  him  at  all.     Even  as  it  was,  the 


LUCIUS  FINDS  A  BACKWATER         243 

contrast  of  what  Mr.  Binney  was  now  and  what  he  had 
been  when  he  first  came  up  was  so  great  that  the  relief 
felt  by  Lucius  almost  made  up  for  the  distress  he  had 
previously  undergone.  Mr.  Binney  as  a  subject  for 
discussion  had  somewhat  lost  interest  by  this  time,  and 
Lucius  lived  much  in  the  same  way  as  he  would  have 
done  if  his  father  had  never  come  to  Cambridge.  Mr. 
Binney,  whose  nature  was  elastic,  had  recovered  a  little 
of  his  self-importance  now  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear 
from  outraged  officialdom,  and  was  rather  inclined  to 
patronise  his  son,  and  generally  to  assume  the  high 
parental  air  with  which  he  had  treated  him  before  his 
own  arrival  in  Cambridge. 

But  Lucius,  whose  appeal  had  saved  his  fathei*  from 
expulsion,  took  it  all  in  excellent  part,  and  was  only 
too  thankful  that  things  were  not  worse.  He  could 
have  borne  a  great  deal  more  and  thought  nothing  of 
it  now  that  Betty  had  at  last  allowed  him  to  put  to  her 
the  all-important  question,  and  had  given  him  the 
answer  he  wanted.  He  whistled  gaily  as  he  walked  up 
to  his  rooms  from  the  river  and  thought  himself  the 
luckiest  fellow  in  the  world. 

At  the  entrance  to  Whewell's  Court  he  met  Dizzy. 

"  I've  done  it,  old  man,"  he  said  with  a  beaming  face. 
"  You're  the  first  person  I've  told  about  it." 

"  Then  I'm  sure  I'm  extremely  flattered,"  answered 
Dizzy,  "  although  I  haven't  the  slightest  notion  what 
you're  talking  about." 


244)  PETER  BINNEY 


a 


I'm    going   to   be    married,    Dizzy,"    said    Lucius. 
"  Will  you  be  my  best  man?  " 

"  Well,  I'm  going  to  play  racquets  at  two,"  said 
Dizz}'.  "  If  you  could  put  it  off  till  to-morrow  per- 
liaps  I  could " 


(( 


No,  but  really,  Ben,  I  asked  Betty  this  morning, 
and  it's  all  right." 

"  My  dear  old  man,"  said  Dizzy,  grasping  him  warmly 
by  the  hand,  while  a  bright  smile  lit  up  his  ingenuous 
features,  "  I  couldn't  have  been  better  pleased  if  I'd 
done  it  myself !  " 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THIRD   TEINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP 

There  never  was  such  a  little  man  as  Mr.  Binney  for 
getting  knocked  down  flat  and  picking  himself  up  again 
as  cocky  as  ever.  Lucius's  announcement  of  his  en- 
gagement to  his  cousin  Betty  brought  him  to  his  feet 
as  pompous  as  if  he  had  never  been  fined  by  a  Proctor 
or  rebuked  by  a  Dean. 

"  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing,"  he  said  indignantly* 
*'  Getting  engaged  to  be  married  at  your  age !  Why, 
it's  ridiculous.     I  won't  have  it.     That's  flat." 

"What  won't  you  have,  father?"  asked  Lucius. 
*'  You  can't  stop  my  being  engaged  to  her,  you  know. 
That's  over  and  done  with." 

"  It  is  not  over  and  done  with,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney. 
"  The  engagement,  if  there  is  one,  must  be  broken  oiF." 

"  Why?  "  asked  Lucius. 

"  Because  I  say  so,"  said  his  father. 

"  You  ought  to  give  me  a  reason,"  said  Lucius.  "  I'm 
not  a  child.  I  love  her  and  she  loves  me.  Why 
shouldn't  we  be  married  ?  Of  course  I  don't  mean  now, 
but  in  two  years'  time  or  so,  when  you  make  me  a  part- 
ner in  the  business." 

"  You'll  never  be  a  partner  in  the  business,"  said  Mr. 

245 


246  TETER  BINNEY 

Binney,  "  if  you  persist  in  this  folly.     You're  a  boy 
and  she's  a  girl,  and  I  won't  have  it.     It's  ridiculous." 

"  Of  course  she's  a  girl.  I  shouldn't  want  to  marry 
her  if  she  were  an  old  woman,"  said  Lucius.  "  If  you 
can't  give  me  any  better  reason  than  that,  father,  I 
don't  think  you're  treating  me  fairly." 

Mr.  Binney  laid  down  the  law  for  half-an-hour  or  so 
longer.  He  did  not  produce  a  better  reason  for  re- 
fusing his  sanction  to  the  engagement,  not  having  a 
better  one  to  produce,  unless  he  had  told  Lucius  that 
he  was  objecting  simply  for  the  pleasure  of  asserting 
his  authority,  which  was  about  the  long  and  short  of 
it.  Lucius  left  him  at  last,  somewhat  dispirited,  and 
sought  the  society  of  Dizzy,  his  friend." 

"  Governor  won't  hear  of  it,"  he  said,  laconically,  as 
he  threw  himself  into  an  easy  chair. 

"  Why  not.''  "  asked  Dizzy. 

*'  Wants  to  show  his  independence,  I  fancy,"  said 
Lucius.  "  He  talked  a  powerful  lot  of  rot.  Told  me 
he'd  turn  me  out  of  the  house  if  I  didn't  break  it  off." 

*'  Oh,  he'll  come  round,"  said  Dizzy  encouragingly. 
**  I  know  his  little  ways.  You  stick  to  it.  You'll  find 
yourself  settled  in  a  semi-detached  villa  at  Brixton  in 
a  twelve-month,  bringing  home  a  basket  of  fish  for  din- 
ner, and  making  a  row  about  the  water-rate.  It'll  turn 
out  right  in  the  end.    You  see  if  it  don't." 

"  I  don't  see  much  chance  of  it,"  said  Lucius  de- 
spondently.    "  The  governor  swears  he  won't  allow  me 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      247 

enough  to  marry  on  for  five  years  at  least.  I've  a  good 
mind  to  take  to  gambling  and  try  and  pick  up  a  bit 
that  way." 

*'  Rub  your  eyes,  old  man,"  said  Dizzy.  "  This  is 
Cambridge.  It  isn't  a  novel  by  Alan  St.  Aubyn,  al- 
though you  are  in  love  with  a  Newnham  girl,  and  the 
first  fellow  I've  ever  known  up  here  who's  gone  any- 
where near  it.  Not  that  they're  not  regular  toppers, 
some  of  them,"  he  added  hastily,  anxious  to  clear  him- 
self from  any  suspicion  of  being  wanting  in  chivalry. 
*'  But  that  sort  of  thing  don't  happen,  as  they  say  in 
the  play.     And  that's  all  about  it." 

"  Well,  it's  happened  with  me,"  said  Lucius.  *'  And 
I'm  pretty  well  down  in  the  mouth  about  it." 

"  Look  here,"  said  Dizzy.  "  Shall  I  go  and  tackle 
your  old  governor.'*     I  daresay  he'd  listen  to  me." 

Lucius  laughed.  "  I  won't  stop  you,"  he  said,  "  but 
it  won't  be  any  good." 

"  We'll  see,"  said  Dizzy.     "  I'U  go  at  once." 

When  Lucius  left  his  father,  Mr.  Binney  began  to 
turn  over  in  his  mind  the  news  he  had  received.  He 
was  not  really  displeased  at  it  now  he  came  to  think  it 
over.  Betty  Jermyn  was  a  very  charming  girl,  and 
there  was  no  objection  to  her  on  the  score  of  blood  re- 
lationship, for  her  mother  had  only  been  a  second  cousin 
of  his  wife's.  They  were  both  very  young,  it  is  true, 
certainly  too  young  to  marry  yet ;  but  then  they  did 
not  want  to  marry  yet.     As   far  as  money  was  con- 


248  PETER  BINNEY 

cerned,  Mr.  Binney  fully  intended  to  take  Lucius  into 
partnership  with  him  in  two  or  three  years'  time.  And 
even  if  the  girl  sliould  prove  to  be  penniless,  as  was 
probable,  Lucius  would  have  quite  enough  to  marry  on 
directly  he  gave  him  a  share  in  the  business.  At  this 
point  in  his  ruminations  Dizzy  entered  the  room. 

"Ah,  Mr.  Binney!"  he  said.  "I  thought  I'd  just 
look  you  up  as  I  was  passing.  How's  the  work  get- 
ting on?  " 

"  Very  well,  thank  you,  Stubbs,"  replied  Mr.  Binney, 
with  a  pre-occupicd  air.  "  Have  you  heard  anything 
about  this  nonsense  between  Lucius  and  his  cousin?" 

"  What,  Miss  Jermyn?  "  asked  Dizzy.  "Yes.  I  did 
hear  they  were  thinking  of  getting  married  or  some- 
thing of  that  sort.     I  didn't  take  much  notice  of  it." 

"  Then  you  don't  think  Lucius  is  in  earnest  about 
it?" 

"  Oh,  I  wouldn't  say  that.  I  should  say  he  was  in 
devilish  deep  earnest." 

"  Now,  look  here,  Stubbs,"  said  Mr.  Binney.  "  Don't 
you  think  it's  a  very  ridiculous  thing  a  boy  not  much 
over  twenty  getting  engaged  to  be  married?  " 

"  Well,  if  you  ask  me  for  a  plain  answer,  I  can't  say 
I  do.  I  believe  in  early  marriages  myself.  It  don't 
come  so  hard  on  the  children.  Now  look  at  my  case. 
My  old  governor  didn't  marry  till  he  was  past  fifty. 
What's  the  consequence?  When  I  go  down  from  this 
place  and  want  to  go  about  a  bit  and  amuse  myself,  I 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      249 

shall  have  to  sit  by  his  bedside  and  hold  his  hand.  I'm 
fond  of  my  old  governor,  but  it  isn't  good  enough." 

"  That  is  a  point,  certainly,"  said  Mr.  Binney, 
thoughtfully. 

"  Yes,  and  look  at  the  other  side  of  the  question," 
continued  Dizzy.  "  You  married  young  yourself,  I 
take  it,  and  here  you  are  at  the  prime  of  life  with  a 
son  old  enough  to  be  a  companion  to  you.  Old  enough ! 
Why,  bless  me,  you're  the  younger  of  the  two,  and 
that's  a  fact." 

Mr.  Binney  was  very  much  impressed  by  this  argu- 
ment. "  There  is  a  good  deal  in  what  you  say,  Stubbs," 
he  remarked.  "  I  don't  want  to  be  hard  on  the  boy, 
of  course,  and  I've  no  objection  to  the  girl  personally. 
She  seems  a  very  nice  girl,  what  little  I've  seen  of 
her." 

"  Oh,  she's  all  right.     She's  a  topper,"  said  Dizzy. 

"  Of  course  I've  got  to  keep  up  my  authority,  you 
know,"  pursued  Mr.  Binney.  "  It  won't  do  to  slack 
the  rein  yet  awhile." 

"  By  George,  no,"  said  Dizzy.  "  I  should  be  a  whale 
on  parental  authority  myself  if  I  were  in  your  place. 
Still,  I  don't  think  you'll  find  Lucius  disposed  to  ques- 
tion your  decision.  He  told  me  himself  he  had  the 
utmost  faith  in  your  judgment  and  should  follow  your 
advice  whatever  it  might  cost  him." 

"  Did  he  really  tell  you  that.?  "  inquired  Mr.  Binney, 
somewhat  surprised. 


250  PETER  BINNEY 

"  Well,  he  didn't  put  it  quite  in  that  way,"  admitted 
Dizzy.     "  But  that's  about  what  it  came  to." 

"  Then  if  he  feels  like  that  about  it,"  said  Mr.  Bin- 
ney,  "  I  shall  put  no  further  obstacles  in  his  path.  He's 
a  good  boy,  Lucius,  and  I'm  pleased  with  him." 

"He's  got  a  good  father,"  said  Dizzy.  "That's 
about  the  size  of  it,"  and  he  took  himself  off  to  inform 
Lucius  that  he  had  managed  everything  for  him  in  a 
perfectly  satisfactory  manner. 

Mr.  Binney  had  asserted  his  authority  and  was  con- 
tent. Subject  to  the  approval  of  Betty's  parents,  she 
and  Lucius  were  allowed  to  consider  themselves  engaged, 
with  the  prospect  of  marriage  when  Lucius  should  reach 
the  age  of  twenty-three.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jermyn  made 
no  objections.  Lucius  had  made  himself  very  popular 
in  the  Norfolk  rectory,  and  he  was  a  good  match  for 
their  daughter  from  a  worldly  point  of  view.  He  went 
about  Cambridge  for  the  rest  of  that  term  in  the  sev- 
enth heaven  of  happiness. 

A  few  days  after  Lucius's  future  had  been  satisfac- 
torily settled  for  him,  Mr.  Binney  had  occasion  to  call 
on  his  Tutor.  He  now  no  longer  looked  upon  this  as 
an  ordeal.  The  sternest  official  critic  could  have  found 
no  flaw  in  his  behaviour  during  that  part  of  the  term 
that  was  past,  and  he  had  no  intention  of  giving  any 
occasion  for  complaint  during  the  remainder  of  his 
residence  in  Cambridge.      He   could   hold  up  his  head 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      251 

before  anybody,  and  entered  the  Tutor's  presence  with 
an  air  of  conscious  worth. 

Mr.  Rimington  received  him  pleasantly  and  attended 
to  the  business  upon  which  Mr.  Binney  had  come.  "  I 
hope  you  are  feeling  happy  amongst  us  now  that  things 
are  going  more  smoothly,  Mr.  Binney,"  he  said  as  he 
blotted  the  paper  in  front  of  him. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  University  life 
is  full  of  interest  to  those  who  know  how  to  value  it." 

Mr.  Rimington  looked  at  him  and  smiled.  "  You 
have  found  out  how  to  value  it  now,  have  you  ?  "  he 
asked. 

*'  Certainly,"  said  Mr.  Binne3^  "  I  hope,  sir,  that 
you  do  not  intend  to  allude  to  past  mistakes.  I  should 
resent  such  remarks  on  your  part." 

"  Oh,  not  at  all,"  said  Mr.  Rimington  hastily,  "  we 
have  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  you  this  term,  Mr. 
Binney,  and  I  have  no  wish  to  remind  you  of  what  is 
over  and  done  with.  I  hope  you  are  getting  on  well 
with  your  work." 

"  I  expect  to  take  a  first  in  both  parts  of  the  ex- 
amination," said  Mr.  Binney,  rising.     "  Good-morning, 


sir." 


As  the  summer  term  passed  quickly  away  with  its 
feverish  work  and  its  incessant  pleasures,  for  it  is  the 
term  when  examinations  closely  jostle  its  crowded  gaie- 
ties, Mr.  Binney  found  himself  nearing  two  important 


.252  PETER  BINNEY 

events.  In  one  week  about  the  beginning  of  June 
he  was  to  go  in  for  both  parts  of  his  Little-go,  and  at 
the  end  of  it  to  steer  the  First  Trinity  first  boat  in  the 
May  races.  With  regard  to  his  examination,  he  felt 
confident  of  acquitting  himself  well.  That  he  was  over- 
confident was  shown  by  his  boast  to  Mr.  Rimington, 
for  it  is  not  out  of  material  such  as  himself  that  first 
classes  are  made,  even  in  tiie  most  elementary  examina- 
tion that  Cambridge  affords.  But  he  had  Avorked  so 
hard  that  he  was  certain  of  passing,  and  he  looked  for- 
ward with  trembling  hope  to  a  renewal  of  his  inter- 
course with  Mrs.  Higginbotham  as  a  reward  of  his 
success.  In  being  chosen  to  steer  the  representative 
oarsmen  of  First  Trinity  he  had  been  extremely  for- 
tunate. When  he  had  so  disgraced  himself  in  the  pre- 
vious term  after  the  success  of  his  boat  in  the  Lent 
races,  Mirrilees  had  sworn  that  he  should  never  again 
steer  a  boat  with  which  he  had  anything  to  do.  But 
one  of  the  coxswains  tried  for  the  first  boat  had  fallen 
ill,  others  had  proved  unsatisfactory,  and  by  the  middle 
of  term,  by  which  time  Mr,  Binney  had  already  proved 
that  his  manner  of  life  would  be  innocuous  for  the  fu- 
ture, Mirrilees  had  relented,  and  he  was  installed  in  the 
proud  position  that  he  so  coveted.  Trinity  Hall  was 
the  head  boat  on  the  river.  First  Trinity  was  second, 
and  Third  Trinity  was  behind  them.  All  three  were  con- 
sidered equally  good,  and  no  one  could  safely  prophesy 
what  the  result  of  the  races  would  be  so  far  as  they 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      253 

were  concerned.     The  Hall  men  laughed  at  the  idea  of 
losing  their  place;  the  First  Trinity  men  expected  to_ 
bump  them,  and  said  so ;  while  Third  Trinity  kept  quiet, 
but  expected  to  find  themselves  in  the  second  place  if 
not  head  of  the  river  by  the  time  the  races  were  over. 

Lucius  was  rowing  bow  in  the  Third  Trinity  boat, 
and  his  quiet  confidence  that  Third  were  a  better  crew 
than  First  exasperated  Mr.  Binney,  who  wouldn't  hear 
of  it. 

"  Don't  talk  such  nonsense,"  he  said  in  an  annoyed 
tone,  when  Lucius  ventured  to  advance  the  opinion  that 
Third  would  finish  head  of  the'  river  and  First  second. 
"  We  shall  row  away  from  you,  and  catch  the  Hall  at 
Ditton  on  the  first  night." 

"  We  shall  see,"  said  Lucius  calmly. 

"  No,  we  shall  not  see,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Binney  angrily. 
"  I  mean  we  shall  see.  And  we  shall  see  that  I  am 
right."  He  had  quite  recovered  his  bombastic  tone, 
only  he  had  learnt  by  bitter  experience  to  quell  it,  ex- 
cept when  addressing  his  son,  who  was  too  good-tem- 
pered to  resent  it. 

Betty,  of  course,  showed  the  utmost  interest  in  the 
prospects  of  the  Third  Trinity  crew.  She  was  de- 
lighted when  she  heard  that  they  were  to  row  behind 
the  boat  which  was  to  be  steered  by  Mr.  Binney,  for 
she  still  maintained  a  deep-rooted  prejudice  against 
her  future  father-in-law,  in  spite  of  the  welcome  he  had 
given  her  as  Lucius's  intended  bride.     "  If  they  bump 


254  PETER  BINNEY 

them,  and  I  see  it,"  she  said  to  one  of  her  friends,  the 
girl  from  whom  she  had  won  tlie  box  of  chocolate  creams, 
*' I  think  I  shall  scream  with  joy.  Oh,  won't  cousin 
Peter's  face  be  worth  seeing  when  he  has  to  hold  up  his 
hand  and  acknowledge  he  has  been  beaten.  I'd  give 
worlds  to  see  it." 

"  You  show  a  very  vindictive  spirit,"  said  her  friend. 

Mr.  Binney's  time  was  fully  occupied  between  putting 
the  finishing  touches  to  his  reading,  and  his  work  on 
the  river.  He  had  almost  entirely  dropped  out  of  the 
social  side  of  University  life.  Although  his  wings  had 
been  clipped,  and  he  would  now  have  been  a  quite  harm- 
less companion,  the  men  with  whom  he  might  have  asso- 
ciated, had  he  behaved  differently  when  he  first  came 
up,  still  looked  rather  shyly  on  him ;  and  he  had  en- 
tirely dropped  the  society  of  men  like  Howden,  for  he 
had  learnt  such  a  lesson  that  he  would  have  been  almost 
frightened  of  results  if  one  of  them  had  even  come  into 
his  rooms.  Indeed,  the  poor  little  man  led, a  very  dull 
life,  and  when  he  had  time  to  think  about  it,  on  Sundays 
perhaps,  or  for  half-an-hour  after  his  work  was  done, 
and  before  he  went  to  bed,  he  often  asked  himself  what 
was  the  use  of  his  staying  up  at  Cambridge  at  all,  since 
so  much  of  what  he  had  hoped  to  gain  from  the  place 
seemed  to  have  been  an  illusive  dream.  He  had  lost 
his  Martha,  at  any  rate  for  the  present,  and  in  his 
moments  of  insight  he  could  not  disguise  from  himself 
the  fact  that  he  was  unpopular,  although  he  cndeav- 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      255 

oured  to  carry  off  the  conviction  with  an  added  bump- 
tiousness of  manner  which  did  not  endear  him  to  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He  would  probably 
have  made  up  his  mind  to  leave  Cambridge  after  this 
term,  when  he  would  have  passed  one  examination  and 
attained  to  a  considerable  measure  of  success  on  the 
river,  but  one  consideration  deterred  him.  He  hoped 
to  be  chosen  to  steer  the  University  boat  in  the  follow- 
ing spring,  and  on  the  chance  of  having  that  ambition 
realised  he  would  have  stayed  on  at  Cambridge  if  every- 
one in  the  place  had  cut  him. 

June  came  and  brought  the  roses,  and  with  them  the 
anxieties  of  Triposes  and  all  the  multitude  of  lesser 
examinations.  Mr.  Binney  went  in  for  the  Little-go. 
All  day  long  he  sat  at  a  narrow  desk  in  the  Corn  Ex- 
change, that  classical  building  which  the  University  of 
Cambridge  periodically  hires  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
her  sons  through  their  facings,  and  wrote  assiduously, 
only  leaving  off  now  and  again  to  gaze  up  at  the  roof 
with  an  expression  of  agonised  effort,  or  to  rest  his 
brain  for  a  minute  by  idly  reading  the  names  on  the 
corn  dealers'  lockers  which  lined  the  walls.  On  these 
occasions  he  would  find  his  thoughts  wandering  off  to 
business  affairs,  for  the  corn  dealers'  names  meant  con- 
siderably more  to  Mr.  Binney  than  to  the  other  few 
hundred  undergraduates  who  attained  a  short-lived 
familiarity  with  them  during  those  few  days  of  effort. 
But  when  he  found  his  thoughts  slipping  he  would  bring 


256  PETER  BINNEY 

them  back  witli  a  frown  and  wrestle  eagerly  with  liis 
translations  and  his  problems,  for  the  card  nailed  on 
to  the  desk  before  him  reminded  him  that  he  was  "  Bin- 
ney  of  Trinity,"  and  that  Peter  Binney  of  the  White- 
chapel  Road  must  be  ignored  at  least  for  the  next  few 
days. 

Tlie  examination  lasted  from  the  beginning  of  the 
week  until  Friday,  and  the  May  races  began  on  tliat 
day.  The  hotels  and  lodgings  throughout  the  town 
gradually  filled  up  with  ladies,  old  and  young,  plain  and 
pretty,  amiable  and  perhaps  ill-tempered,  although  the 
smiling  faces  one  met  in  all  the  streets  might  have  given 
the  impression  that  all  the  bad-tempered  ladies  had 
been  left  at  home.  But  Mr.  Binney  took  very  little 
notice  of  the  change.  B}'  da}-  he  slaved  in  the  Corn 
Exchange.  After  his  afternoon's  work  was  over  he 
went  out  with  his  crew  on  the  river.  In  the  evening 
he  looked  up  his  subjects  for  the  following  day  and  went 
to  bed  early  with  his  mind  full  of  books  and  boats. 
Even  Mrs.  Higginbotham  retired  into  the  background 
of  his  mind,  and  other  things  were  forgotten  entirely. 
By  the  time  the  examination  was  over  Mr.  Binnej'  was 
rather  despondent.  He  had  done  fairly  well,  but  not 
so  well  as  he  had  expected.  But  he  remembered  a  say- 
ing of  his  coach :  "  If  you  tliink  you  have  done  rather 
badly  you  may  have  done  well.  If  you  think  you  have 
done  very  badly,  you  probably  have."  He  knew  he  had 
not  done  very  badly,  so  he  took  heart,  dismissed  the 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      257 

Little-go  from  his  mind  entirely,  and  threw  himself 
heart  and  soul  into  anticipations  of  success  in  the  races. 

We  have  already  described  the  gay  scene  on  the  river 
bank  at  Ditton  Corner  in  the  May  races,  and  one  bump- 
ing race  is  very  much  like  another ;  so  the  experiences 
of  Mr.  Binney,  when  he  had  steered  in  the  previous 
Lent  races,  were  not  unlike  those  he  underwent  in  the 
Mays.  Of  course  he  was  now  in  a  much  more  important 
position,  and  his  appearance  in  the  coxswain's  seat  of 
the  First  Trinity  boat,  as  the  First  Division  rowed 
down  to  the  starting-point,  never  failed  to  cause  a  flut- 
ter of  amusement  and  inquiry  to  go  through  the  waiting 
crowd  at  Ditton  Corner,  which  brought  a  blush  to  the 
cheek  of  Betty  Jermyn,  who  was  generally  to  be  found 
in  a  boat  or  on  the  bank,  in  a  position  from  which  she 
could  see  everything  that  was  going  on. 

She  did  not  waste  much  time,  however,  on  the  con- 
templation of  Mr.  Binney,  in  his  dark  blue  coat  and 
speckled  straw  hat,  for  in  the  bows  of  the  boat  just  in 
front  of  him,  as  they  rowed  down  in  reversed  order, 
was  a  slim  muscular  figure  whose  eyes  eagerly  sought 
the  crowded  ranks  of  the  onlookers  as  the  crews  rested 
for  a  minute  on  their  oars  before  they  went  swinging 
round  the  bend  to  their  stations.  Betty  was  very  proud 
of  her  lover  then,  for  even  her  inexperienced  eyes  could 
see  that  the  grace  and  ease  with  which  he  rowed  were 
something  to  be  admired,  and  poor  little  Mr.  Binney 
sank  still  lower  in  her  esteem  as  he  gave  the  words  of 


258  rETEK  BINNEY 

command  "  Get  ready  all !  Forward  all !  Are  you 
ready  ?  Paddle !  "  which  was  the  signal  for  his  boat  to 
move  on. 

On  the  first  night  of  the  races  there  was  no  change  in 
the  position  of  the  three  head  boats.  Third  Trinity 
drew  up  to  First  at  Ditton  Corner,  but  then  fell  away 
and  finished  at  about  tlieir  distance.  First  Trinity 
gained  on  the  Plall,  but  never  got  within  a  length  of 
them.  Mr.  Blnney  steered  with  great  judgment,  and 
was  told  that  he  could  not  have  done  better,  but  he  was 
disappointed  at  not  catching  the  head  boat  and  a  little 
alarmed  at  Third  Trinity  having  come  so  close  to  them 
during  the  early  part  of  the  race. 

"  They  always  bustle  up  like  that  at  first,"  said  Mir- 
rilees,  to  whom  he  confided  his  tremors.  "  We  shall 
keep  away  from  them  all  right,  and  I  hope  we  shall 
catch  the  Hall  to-morrow." 

Mr.  Binney  was  comforted,  but  on  the  next  night 
Third  not  only  got  to  within  a  length  of  tlieni  at  Grassy 
Corner  but  hustled  them  right  up  the  Long  Reach  and 
very  nearly  caught  them  at  the  railway  bridge.  This 
pursuit  seemed,  however,  to  have  increased  their  own 
pace,  for  it  drove  them  right  on  to  Trinity  Hall,  whom 
they  very  nearly  succeeded  in  bumping.  All  three  boats 
passed  the  winning  post  overlapping,  but  if  Mr.  Binney 
had  made  a  shot  at  the  head  boat  he  would  almost  cer- 
tainly have  missed  it,  and  the  boat  behind  would  almost 
as  certainlv  have  run  into  them. 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      259 

He  was  warmlj  congratulated  on  his  presence  of 
mind  by  the  Captain,  but  he  went  home  to  his  rooms  by 
no  means  at  ease,  for  he  now  saw  plainly  that  Third 
Trinity  were  just  as  likely  to  bump  First  as  First 
Trinity  were  to  catch  Trinity  Hall.  He  was  as  keenly 
anxious  as  any  member  of  his  crew  to  go  head  of  the 
river,  and  he  felt  that  not  only  to  fail  in  that  object 
but  to  be  taken  down  a  place  instead  would  be  more 
than  he  could  bear. 

It  was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Binney,  as  may  already 
have  been  gathered,  to  throw  himself  heart  and  soul  into 
what  he  happened  to  be  doing  for  the  moment.  He  had 
entirely  dismissed  all  thoughts  of  his  late  examination 
from  his  mind,  and  even  Mrs.  Higginbotham  scarcely 
entered  his  thoughts  during  the  whole  of  the  next  day, 
which  was  a  Sunday,  as  he  walked  or  sat  and  went  over 
in  his  mind  all  the  events  of  the  last  two  races  and  the 
probabilities  of  those  that  were  to  come.  He  was  alone 
all  day,  for  he  now  had  \erj  few  friends,  and  Sunday 
was  for  Lucius  a  happy  day  spent  mostly  in  Betty's 
charming  society.  So  Mr.  Binney  brooded,  and  by- 
and-bye  dark  thoughts  began  to  enter  his  mind. 

During  the  progress  of  Saturday's  race,  when  First 
Trinity  had  been  chased  all  the  way  up  the  Long  Reach 
by  Third,  Mr.  Binney  had  cast  one  fleeting  glance  be- 
hind him,  and  had  seen  the  little  indiarubber  ball  on  the 
nose  of  the  Third  Trinity  boat  within  a  few  inches  of 
his  own  rudder,  while  the  back  of  his  son  was  swinging 


260  PETER  BIXNEY 

regularly  and  steadily  behind  it.  An  unreasoning 
anger  and  jealousy  had  taken  hold  of  his  mind.  It 
was  as  much  as  he  could  do  to  prevent  himself  from 
shouting  out  to  Lucius  to  ask  him  where  he  was  coming 
to.  It  seemed  to  him  an  intolerable  thing  that  he 
should  be  prevented  from  gaining  something  that  he 
wanted  by  the  action  of  iiis  own  son,  and  the  more  he 
thouL'lit  of  it  the  more  intolerable  it  seemed.  He  had 
only  to  say  a  word  to  Lucius,  and  Third  Trinity  would 
keep  away  from  him,  for  it  was  quite  certain  that  if  one 
man  in  the  boat  "  sugared  "  they  would  have  no  chance 
of  making  a  bump. 

Should  he  say  that  word?  That  ras  the  black 
thought  that  held  Mr.  Binney  in  its  grip  during  the 
whole  of  that  pleasant  June  Sunday,  when  Cambridge 
was  full  of  life  and  gaiety,  and  he  only  wandered  about 
lonely  and  distraught.  It  would  not  be  sportsman-like 
behaviour  certainly,  but  Mr.  Binney  had  not  been 
brought  up  to  be  a  sportsman,  and  the  iniquity  of  the 
proceeding  did  not  strike  him  very  forcibly.  It  also 
never  entered  his  head  that  Lucius  would  disobey  his 
behests  if  he  brought  pressure  to  bear  on  him.  Lucius 
was  entirely  dependent  on  his  father,  and  could  be 
threatened  with  being  immediately  taken  away  from 
Cambridge  if  he  refused  to  do  what  he  was  told.  Mr. 
Binney  had  worried  himself  into  such  a  fever  of  desire 
that  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  look  upon  his  possible 
defeat  with  the  slightest  equanimity.     Lie  would  have 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      261 

preferred  that  his  boat  should  go  head  of  the  river  on 
the  merits  of  its  crew,  but  rather  than  not  go  head  at 
all,  he  was  prepared  to  take  any  steps  that  would  bring 
about  what  he  desired. 

But  the  morning  light  happily  brought  better  coun- 
sels. He  dismissed  his  half-formed  intention  of  tamper- 
ing with  a  member  of  the  Third  Trinity  crew,  and  went 
down  to  the  river  with  renewed  hopes. 

Tlie  First  Trinity  men  rowed  like  heroes  and  got  up 
to  the  head  boat  at  Ditton  Corner.  Third  were  press- 
ing them  hard,  but  lost  a  little  by  bad  steering. 

The  shouts  from  the  bank  were  deafening.  Mr.  Bin- 
ney  lost  his  head  and  made  shot  after  shot.  If  he  had 
waited,  his  crew  would  have  made  their  bump.  But  in 
the  meantime  they  lost  ground,  and  Third  was  creeping 
up  again. 

Mr.  Binney  turned  round  in  his  seat  and  saw  a  long 
sharp  point  with  a  little  ball  at  the  end  of  it  dancing 
gaily  past  his  rudder.  Behind  it  was  the  back  of  his 
son,  swinging  regularly. 

"  Keep  off !  "  roared  Mr.  Binney,  and  made  another 
dab  at  the  Head  boat.  Then  he  turned  round  again. 
The  little  ball  was  within  reach  of  him,  and  behind 
it  was  Lucius  rowing  more  vigorously  than  ever.  Mr. 
Binney  was  aware  of  the  ball  and  the  back,  and  nothing 
else  in  all  the  world. 

He  lost  his  head  completely  and  turned  round  in  his 
seat,  half  rising,  pulling  his  right  rudder  line,  and  so 


'2&Z  TETEll  BINNEY 

crammed  liis  boat  rl^rlit  on  to  the  lilgli  bank  iinck'r  the 
tow-path. 

"  Catch  a  crab,  or  you  go  down  to-morrow,"  he 
shrieked  to  Lucius. 

The  next  moment,  lie  could  never  recall  how,  he  found 
himself  floundering  in  the  river,  in  an  inextricable 
confusion  of  boats,  oars,  and  shouting,  struggling 
humanity.  He  could  not  swim.  As  he  rose  to  the  sur- 
face the  blade  of  an  oar  hit  him  on  the  head.  He  went 
down  again,  and  gave  himself  over,  but  when  he  came 
up  the  second  time  he  felt  himself  grasped  by  the  collar 
of  his  blazer.  *'  Don't  kick ! "  gasped  the  voice  of  his 
son.     "  I'll  get  you  out." 

When  he  was  hauled  on  to  the  tow-path,  panting  and 
dripping,  he  turned  round  on  Lucius  in  a  fury.  *'  What 
do  you  mean  by  it?  It  was  your  fault,"  he  shrieked. 
"  You'll  go  down !  you'll  go  down  !  " 

Mirrilees,  dripping  from  head  to  foot,  with  a  slimy 
weed  clinging  round  his  leg,  shouldered  his  way  through 
the  crowd. 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  you  little  beast,  or  I'll  pitch  yoxi 
into  the  river  again,"  he  said. 

Other  things  happened  to  Mr.  Binney  that  evening, 
of  which  he  does  not  now  speak — some  of  them  on  his 
way  to  the  First  Trinity  boat-house,  some  of  them  when 
he  got  there,  others  as  he  made  his  way  for  the  last 
time  to  his  rooms  in  Jesus  Lane,  and  others  again  be- 
fore he  found  himself  in  the  train  on  his  way  to  London, 


THIRD  TRINITY  MAKES  A  BUMP      263 

having  shaken  the  dust  of  Cambridge  from  his  feet  for 
ever. 

The  next  night  Third  Trinity  bumped  Trinity  Hall 
and  went  head  of  the  river.  First  Trinity  were  badly 
steered  by  the  coxswain  who  had  been  put  into  Mr.  Bin- 
ney's  place,  and  succumbed  to  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MR.    BIXNEY    DJIIXKS    TilE    HEALTH    OF    A    "  BLUE  " 

Nine  months  had  passed  and  the  nipping  March  winds 
were  raising  the  dust  and  numbing  noses  and  finger-tips 
in  London,  while  March  sunsliine  was  bringing  out 
daffodils  and  primroses  in  the  country.  It  was  very 
cold  on  the  river  Thames  between  Putney  and  Mort- 
lake,  but  the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  and  a  little 
party  on  the  deck  of  a  steamer,  which  was  making  its 
way  with  other  similar  craft  to  a  station  near  Barnes 
Bridge,  seemed  to  be  quite  unaffected  in  spirits  by  the 
keen  east  wind,  for  it  was  the  morning  of  the  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  boat  race.  Tlic  party  on  the  steamer 
were  all  interested  in  the  prospects  of  one  University, 
but  the  two  crews  were  so  equal  that  none  of  the  sport- 
ing critics  had  ventured  to  prophesy  the  winner  in  clear 
and  unmistakable  terms,  and  everybody  looked  forward 
to  seeing  one  of  the  best  races  that  had  been  rowed  for 
years. 

Surely  that  short  but  erect  figure,  standing  in  the 
bows,  with  a  First  Trinity  scarf  showing  above  the  col- 
lar of  its  overcoat  and  the  ruddy  glow  of  health  in  its 
cheeks,  can  belong  to  no  one  but  Mr.   Peter  Binney, 

late  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge!     And  that  ample 

204 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  265 

comfortable  form  on  the  seat  beside  him  with  a  fur-lined 
cloak  and  a  close-fitting  bonnet,  well-secured  against 
the  wind,  must  be  that  of  his  true  and  loyal  wife,  INIartha 
Binney,  relict  of  the  late  Matthew  Higginbotham. 
Here  also  are  the  Reverend  Dr.  Toller  with  his  wife 
and  daughter,  for  Mr.  Binney  still  lives  in  Russell 
Square,  and  is  once  more  a  valued  and  important  official 
in  the  doctor's  congregation.  Here  also  are  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jermyn  with  their  son  and  daughter,  the  latter 
attended  by  the  loquacious  Dizzy,  while  John  Jermyn 
sticks  close  to  the  side  of  Nesta  Toller,  rather  to  the 
dismay  of  Mrs.  Jermyn,  who,  charitable  woman  as  she 
is,  has  not  taken  kindly  to  that  young  lady's  mother, 
and  is  not  at  all  anxious  that  this  acquaintanceship 
which  has  been  made  under  Mr.  Binney's  hospitable 
roof  should  develop  into  intimacy.  There  are  other 
people  on  the  boat  which  has  been  chartered  by  Mr.  Bin- 
ney for  the  entertainment  of  his  friends,  but  we  need 
not  concern  ourselves  with  them.  There  is  one  very 
important  person,  however,  of  those  with  whom  our 
story  has  concerned  itself,  who  is  not  to  be  found  there. 
Surely  Lucius,  and  not  Dizzy,  entertaining  as  that 
gentleman's  conversation  is,  should  be  found  by  the  side 
of  Betty  Jermyn!  And  by  her  side  Lucius  certainly 
would  be,  if  duty  and  honour  did  not  call  him  elsewhere. 
For  Lucius  has  occupied  the  bow  seat  of  the  Cambridge 
boat  ever  since  they  went  into  practice,  and  is  even 
now,  as  Mr.  Binney's  steamer  makes  its  way  up  the 


266  PETER  BINNEY 

crowded  river,  preparing  to  liolp  launcli  the  frail  shell 
which  all  those  in  whom  wo  arc  interested  confidently 
hope  will  soon  bear  him  to  victory. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  Binney  are  alone  for  a  time  in 
the  bows  of  the  steamer.  Let  us  join  them,  and  listen 
to  their  conversation. 

*'  See  what  an  interest  the  world  takes  in  this  historic 
contest,"  Mr.  Binney  is  saying,  waving  his  hand  round 
towards  the  river  dotted  with  craft  all  moving  the  same 
way,  and  the  banks  lined  with  a  dense,  holidaj'-making 
mass.  "  It  makes  you  proud  of  being  able  to  call  your- 
self a  'Varsity  man." 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  answers  his  wife.  "  And  to  think  of 
Lucius  actually  taking  part  in  it !  I  feel  as  proud  as 
anything  of  the  dear  boy." 

"  So  do  I,"  says  Mr.  Binney  heartily.  "  There  was 
a  time  when  I  should  have  been  jealous  of  him.  But 
that  is  all  over  and  done  Avith.  I've  put  such  things 
behind  me.  Here  am  I,  settled  down  comfortably  with 
a  devoted  and  charming  wife.  I  can  take  life  grate- 
fully now  as  it  comes,  and  be  just  as  proud  of  my  boy 
distinguishing  himself  as  if  I  had  done  it  myself." 

"That's  the  way  to  look  at  it,  Peter,"  says  Mrs. 
Binney.  "  We  made  a  mistake  in  thinking  it  was  neces- 
sary for  you  to  go  to  Cambridge  in  order  to  keep  young. 
It's  love  that  keeps  the  heart  young,  and  so  we've  found, 
haven't  we.''  " 

"  Indeed  we  have,  :Martha,"  says  Mr.  Binney.     "  Ah ! 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  267 

Shall  I  ever  forget  what  you  did  for  me  in  that  dark 
time  of  illness  and  remorse?  Shall  I  ever  forget  reach- 
ing home  that  morning,  racked  with  anguish  at  the 
thought  of  the  ingratitude  I  had  displayed  towards  my 
noble-hearted  son,  and  the  remembrance  of  the  awful 
punishment  I  had  received  for  my  rash  folly?  How  I 
sat  indoors  brooding  over  the  past,  feeling  wretched 
and  miserable,  without  hope  or  comfort.  How  the  next 
day  I  was  too  ill  to  get  up,  and  by  night  time  was 
mercifully  beyond  the  reach  of  my  remorseful  thoughts, 
because  of  the  severe  attack  of  pneumonia,  which  the 
exposure  and  distress  I  had  gone  through  had  brought 
on.  How  I  lay  for  days,  tossing  and  burning  on  a 
couch  of  misery,  and  woke  at  last  to  find  your  cool  hand 
stilling  the  throbbing  of  my  burning  brain,  and  your 
angel  voice  falling  in  words  of  balm  on  my  distressed 
and  fevered  spirit. 

"  Yes,  dear,"  says  his  wife  as  Mr.  Binney  pauses  for 
breath,  "and  then  you  soon  got  better,  didn't  you?" 

"  Shall  I  ever  forget,"  pursues  Mr.  Binney  more 
energetically  than  ever,  "how,  when  I  came  again  to 
the  realisation  of  all  the  many  follies  I  had  committed, 
you  soothed  and  consoled  me,  how  you  brought  my  boy 
to  me,  and  neither  of  you  would  listen  to  my  broken 
cries  of  repentance,  but  gave  me  calves'  foot  jelly  and 
grapes  instead,  and  insisted  upon  carrying  on  a  cheer- 
ful conversation?  How  you  brought  me  the  news  of 
my  success  in  the  Little-go,  which  was  greater  than  I 


^eS  TETER  BINNEY 

deserved,  but  less  than  I  expected;  and  finally,  Martha, 
how  you  made  me  the  happy  man  I  am  to-day  by  prom- 
ising tc  become  mine  wlien  I  had  sufficiently  recovered, 
on  the  condition  that  I  should  leave  Cambridge  and 
settle  down  once  more  to  my  business." 

"  Yes,  dear,  and  now  we're  all  comfortable  and 
happy,"  says  Mrs.  Binney.  "  I  made  mistakes  too, 
Peter,  as  well  as  you,  but  they're  all  over  now. 
And " 


a 


Well,  Mrs.  Binney,"  interrupts  a  well-known  voice, 
*'  this  is  sometliing  like,  eh  ?  I  don't  know  whether  you 
know  that  if  you've  got  any  microbes  or  things  of  that 
sort  in  your  system  a  wind  like  this  blows  'em  all 
away." 

"  I  didn't  know  it,  Mr.  Stubbs,"  says  Mrs.  Binney, 
with  a  pleasant  smile.  "  But  I  have  no  doubt  the  wind 
is  a  very  good  tiling  if  o  ily  it  wouldn't  blow  all  one's 
hair  about  one's  face  so?  "' 

"  Ah,  dear  lady !  "  says  Dizzy,  "  you  may  consider 
yourself  lucky  you've  got  any  hair  to  be  blown  about. 
Now  look  at  the  top  of  7ni/  old  pepper-box.  I  haven't 
had  to  use  a  comb  for  a  year,  and  I  shall  soon  be  able 
to  part  my  hair  with  a  towel.  You  wouldn't  like  to 
be  like  that,  would  you?  " 

"  No,"  says  Mrs.  Binney.  "  But  you  are  very  young 
to  be  going  so  bald,  Mr.  Stubbs.  What  do  you  at- 
tribute it  to?" 

It  appears  that  Dizzy  attributes  liis  growing  bald- 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  269 

ness  to  hard  work  and  care  combined,  but  just  as  he 
is  explaining  this  to  the  sympathetic  Mrs.  Binney  the 
steamer  shuts  off  steam  and  is  turned  and  backed  with 
a  good  deal  of  commotion  into  her  berth  just  by  Barnes 
Bridge. 

There  is  another  hour  to  wait,  but  the  time  goes  by 
somehow.  The  party  stamp  about  the  deck  and  huddle 
themselves  up  in  coats  and  cloaks  to  keep  themselves 
warm,  and  by-and-bye  a  muffled  roar  from  a  mile  away 
down  the  river,  warns  them  that  the  boats  are  drawing 
near.  The  roar  deepens  and  increases,  and  by-and-bye, 
leaning  over  the  rail  of  the  steamer,  they  can  see  the 
rhythmic  flash  of  oars  in  the  sunshine,  and  nearer  and 
nearer  come  the  two  boats,  with  the  Umpire's  launch 
fussing  along  just  behind  them,  and  the  four  steamers 
which  follow  the  race  in  the  background,  the  Cambridge 
steamer — absit  omen! — some  way  behind  the  rest.  Now 
they  are  alongside,  and  a  mighty  cheer  goes  up  from 
all  the  throats  in  Mr.  Binney's  steamer  as  they  pass, 
and  Cambridge  is  seen  to  be  leading  by  half  a  length. 
Just  here  Oxford  makes  a  spurt,  and  creeps  up  level. 
Cambridge  answers  it,  and  on  they  go  under  Barnes 
Bridge,  fighting  every  inch  of  the  way,  as  they  have 
done  ever  since  the  starting  gun  sent  them  off  like  grey- 
hounds from  the  leash,  four  miles  down  the  river  at 
Putney. 

Our  party  spends  five  minutes  of  breathless  expecta- 
tion, after  boats  and  following  steamers  have  passed  out 


270  PETER  BINNEY 

of  siglit,  and  then  another  cheer,  louder  than  the  first, 
goes  up  as  the  light  blue  flag  slowly  unfurls  itself  from 
the  flag-staff  at  tlie  finish  of  the  course,  and  the  dark 
blue  is  run  up  underneath  it.  Then  mutually  congratu- 
lating one  another  with  every  expression  of  delight  and 
fulfilled  expectation,  our  party  steam  away  down  the 
river,  ver^^  well  pleased  with  their  afternoon's  amuse- 
ment. 

On  the  night  of  the  boat  race  Lucius  dined  with  the 
crews ;  but  while  he  was  by  no  means  a  drag  on  the 
hilarity  of  the  proceedings,  and  may  be  said  on  the 
whole  to  have  enjoyed  himself,  he  often  found  himself 
wishing  that  he  was  at  home  in  Russell  Square,  where 
Betty  was.  He  had  declined  the  invitation  he  had  re- 
ceived to  the  "  Blue  Monday  "  dinner,  as  Mr.  Binney 
had  announced  his  intention  of  exercising  his  hospitality 
on  that  evening  in  honour  of  the  distinction  Lucius  had 
gained  in  rowing  in  the  winning  University  ci;ew.  The 
company  was  the  same  as  that  which  had  graced  Mr. 
Binney's  board  in  the  Easter  vacation  a  year  before, 
with  the  exception  of  Miss  Tuppcr,  who  had  not  en- 
tered the  house  since  Mrs.  Higginbotliam  had  taken 
her  place  there,  and  with  the  addition  of  Mrs.  Jermyn, 
Betty,  and  Jolin.  The  Reverend  Julius  Jermyn  had 
returned  to  his  parish  at  Norfolk  directly  after  the 
boat  race  on  the  previous  Saturday.  The  Tollers  would 
not  have  been  there  had  not  Mrs.  Toller  practically 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  271 

asked  herself.  She  was  sweetness  itself  in  her  inter- 
course with  Mrs.  Binney,  but  although  her  claws  were 
sheathed  they  were  not  cut,  and  were  likely  to  spring 
out  at  a  moment's  warning  if  she  were  offended,  and 
Mrs.  Binney  had  wisely  given  in  at  once,  and  warmly 
proffered  the  invitation  which  was  being  fished  for. 
Mrs.  Toller  could  not  come  without  her  husband,  and 
Nesta  had  been  asked  in  order  to  fill  up. 

Mr.  Binney  took  in  Mrs.  Jermyn.  It  was  known 
that  Mrs.  Toller  would  resent  this,  but  she  was  placed 
on  her  host's  left,  having  been  paired  off  with  Dizzy, 
to  whom  she  had  taken  a  great  fancy,  and  smiled  sweetly 
as  she  took  her  seat  after  the  Doctor's  extempore  grace. 
Lucius  was  allowed  to  take  in  Betty,  and  sat  between 
her  and  her  mother.  Next  to  Betty  came  Dr.  Toller 
on  Mrs.  Binney's  left.  On  the  other  side  of  the  table 
was  John  Jermyn,  who  had  been  made  happy  with  Nesta 
Toller,  with  Dizzy  and  Mrs.  Toller  next  to  them.  The 
table  was  decorated  with  Lucius's  silver  cups,  standing 
on  an  artistically  crinkled  square  of  light  blue  silk. 
The  menus,  adorned  with  appropriate  aquatic  emblems 
and  the  arms  of  the  two  Universities,  had  been  ordered 
expressly  from  Messrs.  Breedon  &  Co.,  and  were  quite 
in  the  orthodox  Cambridge  style. 

"  Very  pretty,"  said  Mrs.  Toller,  examining  hers 
when  she  had  settled  herself.  "  One  might  almost 
imagine  oneself  transported  to  Cambridge,  Mr.  Stubbs. 
Quite  delightful,  is  it  not.?  " 


272  PETER  BIXNEY 

"  Yes,"  said  Dizzy,  "  altliough  to  tell  you  the  truth, 
I'm  getting  a  bit  tired  of  Cambridge." 

"  Oh !  but  I  thought  young  men  never  got  tired  of 
University  life,"  said  Mrs.  Toller.  "  I  have  always 
heard  that  it  was  so  very  attractive.  I'm  sure  you 
found  it  so,  didn't  you,  JMr.  IJinney?  " 

But  Mr.  Binney  was  engaged  with  Mrs.  Jermyn  and 
affected  not  to  have  heard  the  inquiry. 

"  It's  all  very  well  for  a  bit,"  said  Dizzy,  "  but  when 
a  fellow  gets  my  age  he  wants  to  settle  down  and  do 
something." 

"  Oh !  come,"  said  Mrs.  Toller,  "  you're  not  so  old 
as  all  that,  Mr.  Stubbs." 

"  Not  in  years  perhaps,"  said  Dizzy.  "  But  I  assure 
you  that  in  other  things  Methuselah  was  a  babe  com- 
pared with  me.  I  sometimes  sit  and  look  at  fellows 
amusing  themselves,  and  I  say  to  myself:  'Well,  you 
are  a  set  o'  Jugginses.  Call  this  life!  Why,  you 
ought  all  to  be  in  the  nursery ! '  However, ,  I've  only 
got  one  more  term  and  the  whole  thing  will  be 
over." 

"  And  what  are  you  going  to  do  when  you  leave  the 
University.?  "  asked  Mrs.  Toller.  "  Are  you  still  think- 
ing of  entering  the  Church?  " 

"  Oh !  bless  me,  no,"  said  Dizzy.  "  That's  off.  My 
old  father  got  a  bit  frightened  when  these  Kcnsit  John- 
nies began  bally-ragging  all  over  the  place.  He's  a 
far-sighted   old  fellow.     He  saw  that  if  I  got  shoved 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  273 

into  a  comfortable  living  and  then  they  went  and  dis- 
established it  or  something,  I  should  get  left." 

*'  Have  you  ever  turned  your  attention  to  the  Non- 
conformist ministry.?"  inquired  Mrs.  Toller. 

"  No,  I  can't  say  I  have,"  replied  Dizzy.  "  Is  there 
much  in  it.''  " 

"  The  incomes  made  by  our  leading  men  are  superior 
to  anything  in  the  Establishment,"  said  Mrs.  Toller. 
"  Our  people  have  been  taught  to  give." 

^^  Have  they?"  said  Dizzy,  with  interest.  "Well 
now,  that's  worth  knowing.  I'll  put  my  old  governor 
on  to  that.  If  you  hear  of  a  soft  thing  going,  I  shall 
consider  it  very  kind  of  you  if  you'll  drop  me  a  line. 
One's  got  to  keep  one's  eyes  skinned  to  pick  up  a  living 
now-a-days.  We're  getting  ready  for  the  bar  now,  to 
tell  you  the  truth.  My  old  father  was  dining  with  a 
railway  fellow  down  our  way,  and  he  told  him  that  they 
spent  I  forget  how  many  thousands  a  year  on  litiga- 
tion. My  governor's  a  cute  old  bird,  and  he  thought  it 
wouldn't  be  a  bad  thing  if  I  could  pick  up  a  bit  of  it,  so 
I've  been  eating  dinners  at  Lincoln's  Inn  for  the  last 
year  or  so,  and  precious  poor  dinners  they  are  too.  I 
don't  think  I  shall  take  to  it  much.  In  fact,  the  gov- 
ernor's been  dropping  hints  about  diplomacy  lately. 
It  seems  he's  found  out  from  the  papers  that  the  people 
ain't  over  and  above  pleased  with  the  way  things  have 
been  carried  on  by  the  ambassadors  we've  got  now,  and 
he  thinks  there  might  be  a  chance  there  in  a  few  years' 


214>  TETER  BINXEY 

time.  I  don't  much  care  what  it  is.  I  suppose  I  shall 
keep  going  somcliow." 

Lucius  and  Betty  were  talking  quietly  together  on 
the  other  side  of  tlie  table. 

"  Only  two  more  years,"  Lucius  was  saying.  "  Won't 
it  be  ripping,  Betty,  when  we're  settled  down  in  a  house 
of  our  own.''  " 

"  I  don't  think  we  shall  ever  have  a  better  time  than 
we've  had  for  the  last  year  at  Cambridge,"  said  Betty. 
"  And  think  of  another  summer  term  there  together." 

Lucius's  face  lit  up.  "  There's  nothing  like  a  sum- 
mer term  at  Cambridge  when  the  girl  you're  in  love 
with  Is  there,"  he  said.  "  We'll  go  on  the  Backs  in  a 
canoe  every  fine  afternoon.  I  say,  Betty,  do  you  re- 
member that  backwater  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do,  you  silly  boy,"  said  Betty.  "  I 
haven't  forgiven  you  yet  for  getting  me  to  go  up  it  on 
false  pretences.  I'll  see  that  you  don't  get  me  there 
again  though." 

"  I'll  take  particular  good  care  that  I  do,"  said 
Lucius.  "  I  like  that  backwater  better  than  any  place 
in  Cambridge.  Betty,  what  shall  you  do  when  I've 
gone  down?  " 

"  I  know  I  sliall  be  very  miserable,"  said  Betty,  her 
face  falling.  "  But  don't  let  us  talk  about  that.  We 
shall  have  another  summer  term  together." 

Dr.  Toller  was  making  himself  pleasant  to  his  hostess. 
He  was  an  agreeable  man  when  he  succeeded  in  banish- 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  275 

ing  from  his  mind  "  the  Problems  that  confront  the 
Age,"  and  brought  himself  down  to  the  level  of  those 
who  are  content  to  let  the  Age  worry  along  in  its  own 
way  without  making  too  much  noise  about  it.  Mrs. 
Binney,  at  the  head  of  her  own  table,  was  an  attractive 
figure  in  a  gown  of  rich  black  silk,  festooned  with  hang- 
ings of  lace,  and  smiled  engagingly  at  the  Doctor's  con- 
versation. 

"  Yes,  Doctor,"  she  said,  in  answer  to  a  remark  from 
him,  "  I  feel  I  am  a  very  fortunate  woman.  I  have  a 
comfortable  house  and  the  best  of  husbands.  Peter  is 
consideration  itself  to  all  my  little  whims,  and  I  assure 
you  I  have  a  great  many  whims.  There  was  a  time 
when  I  feared  that  this  happiness  would  never  come  to 
me.  You  know  all  about  it  and  were  very  kind  to  me 
when  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  cut  myself  off  from  all 
these  bright  prospects.  I  am  thankful  that  that  trouble 
passed  away  and  I  was  not  compelled  to  spend  the  rest 
of  my  life  by  myself.  There  is  the  closest  confidence 
between  me  and  my  husband.  He  is  of  a  sanguine  dis- 
position, and  I  think  I  may  say  that  any  weight  of 
character  I  may  have  attained  to — and  you  know, 
Doctor,  I  am  a  weighty  woman  in  more  ways  than  one — 
keeps  the  balance  true.  There  is  not  a  happier  couple 
in  all  Bloomsbury  than  Peter  and  myself,  and  you  know 
that  in  marrying  him  I  have  gained  a  son,  which  is  a 
great  joy  to  me,  for  I  never  had  a  child  of  my  own. 
Lucius  treats  me  with  the  greatest  respect  and  affec- 


'216  TETER  BINNEY 

tion,  and  I  could  not  be  fonder  of  him  than  if  he  were 
my  own.  I  am  as  proud  as  anyone  of  his  success  to- 
day. Cambridge  has  not  proved  an  unmixed  source  of 
pleasure  to  me,  as  you  know,  but  I  have  seldom  per- 
formed a  more  agreeable  duty  than  when  I  arranged 
this  light  blue  silk  on  the  table  this  afternoon  with  my 
own  hands.  Anything  that  I  can  do  towards  making 
the  dear  boy's  life  happy  witli  the  sweet  girl  he  is 
going  to  marry  I  shall  do,  as  if  they  were  my  own 
children,  and  consider  myself  fortunate  in  being  per- 
mitted to  do." 

If  Mrs.  Binncy  could  speak  in  such  terms  of  grati- 
tude of  the  new  life  she  had  entered  upon,  what  words 
could  be  too  strong  for  her  husband  to  use  in  describing 
his  content  in  having  gained  as  his  helpmate  that  most 
estimable  woman.  She  was  the  theme  on  which  he  was 
expatiating  to  Mrs.  Jerm3'n  while  the  conversations  al- 
ready recorded  were  going  on  around  him. 

"  Nobody  knows,"  Mr.  Binney  was  saying,  "  what 
that  woman  has  been  to  me.  She  has  stuck  by  me  in 
sickness  and  in  health,  when  I  was  working  at  the  busi- 
ness to  which  I  was  brought  up,  and  wlien  I  was  trying 
to  do  something  that  I  oughtn't  have  tried  to  do.  You 
know  all  about  that,  Elizabeth,  so  I  don't  mind  men- 
tioning it  to  you,  although  it's  all  over  now.  I  can't 
say  that  I'm  altogether  sorry  to  have  had  the  mental 
training  that  University  life  affords.  Nobody  can 
deny  that  there's  a  difference  between  a  man  who  has 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  277 

been  at  the  University  and  one  who  hasn't.  You've  had 
a  husband  at  Oxford  and  a  son  at  Cambridge  and  you 
know  that  as  well  as  I  do.  But  still  on  the  whole  I 
acknowledge  that  Oxford  and  Cambridge  are  for  the 
young  fellows.  When  I  saw  Lucius  pulling  away  in 
such  perfect  style  in  that  boat  on  Saturday  afternoon 
I  can  tell  you  it  warmed  my  heart  to  see  it.  And 
Martha  feels  just  the  same  as  I  do  about  it.  She  told 
me  so.  Nobody  knows,  Elizabeth,  what  a  treasure  I've 
found  in  that  woman.  And  as  for  Lucius,  well,  he  didn't 
take  to  the  idea  kindly  at  first — ^I  don't  know  that  it 
was  to  be  expected  that  he  should — but  they're  as  fond 
of  one  another  as  they  can  be  now,  and — and  it  makes 
me  very  happy  to  see  it — very  happy." 

The  conversation  became  more  general  after  this,  and 
great  were  the  merriment  and  goodwill  round  Mr.  Bin- 
ney's  table. 

When  dinner  was  over  and  the  servants  had  left  the 
room,  Mr.  Binney  rose  to  his  feet.  There  was  an  ex- 
pectant silence  and  a  rapping  on  the  table  from  all 
except  Lucius,  who  knew  what  was  coming  and  wished 
it  was  well  over. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Binney,  "  I  rise 
to  perform  a  very  pleasant  duty,  a  duty  which  I  am 
proud  of  having  occasion  to  perform,  a  duty  which  I 
am  sure  all  the  friends  I  see  gathered  round  me  to-night 
will  join  with  me  heartily  in — in  performing,  a  duty 
which — which  I  will  now  perform.     I  rise,  ladies  and 


278  PETER  BINNEY 

gentlemen,  to  propose  the  liealtli  of  my  son  Lucius,  who 
rowed  witli  such  conspicuous  success  in  the  Cambridge 
boat  last  Saturday."  (Murmured  but  heartfelt  ap- 
plause, rappings  on  the  tabic,  and  "  Well  rowed,  Lucy, 
well  rowed,"  from  Dizzy.)  "  We  have  gathered  round 
our  table  to-night,"  continued  Mr.  Binney,  "  four  mem- 
bers of  the  University  of  Cambridge."  ("  Five,  sir, 
five,"  from  Dizzy.)  Mr.  Binney's  puzzled  eye  searched 
quickly  round  the  table  and  lit  upon  Betty.  "  Five, 
of  course,"  he  said,  *'  for  have  we  not  a  fair  representa- 
tive of  the  great  college  of  Newnham  in  the  person  of 
the  dear  girl  whom  I  hope  soon  to  welcome  as  a  daugh- 
ter.'* "  (Renewed  applause.)  "We  have  also  a  dis- 
tinguished member  of  another  University,  or  rather  of 
two  Universities,  for  my  friend  Dr.  Toller  is  a  Bachelor 
of  Arts  of  the  University  of  London  and  a  Doctor  of 
Divinity — honoris  causa — of  the  University  of  Joppa, 
Pa.,  across  the  water.  And  speaking  for  the  ladies,  I 
am  sure  there  is  not  one  present  here  to-night  whose 
sympathies  do  not  go  out  to  the  great  University  to 
which  I  have  the  honour  to  belong."  (Rappings  and 
subdued  acquiescent  murmurs  from  the  ladies  with  the 
exception  of  Mrs.  Toller,  who  thought  Oxford  rather 
more  aristocratic.)  "  I  needn't  say,"  pursued  Mr.  Bin- 
ney, "  that  to  become  a  Blue  is  to  gain  the  proudest 
position  which  Cambridge  can  afford,  and  to  become  a 
rowing  Blue  is  perhaps  the  highest  distinction  of  all. 
I  have  always  had  occasion  to  be  proud  of  my  son 


MR.  BINNEY  DRINKS  279 

throughout  his  school  and  University  career,  and  I  am 
prouder  than  ever  of  him  to-night."  (Applause.) 
*'  These  trophies,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  this  decora- 
tion of  light  blue,  are  signs  of  his  having  distinguished 
himself  in  the  highest  possible  degree  in  one  path  of 
life — the  path  which  only  those  who  have  youth, 
strength,  and  health  on  their  side  can  hope  to  tread. 
In  proposing  the  health  of  my  son  Lucius,  I  am  sure 
you  will  join  with  me  in  wishing  him  equal  success  in 
other  paths  of  life  in  the  future,  a  success  which,  with 
the  charming  girl  who  has  promised  to  share  it  with 
him,  I  for  one  feel  confident  of  his  attaining.  Ladies 
and  gentlemen — My  son  Lucius." 


THE  END 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


rjUL  3  1 


:2r 


JAN  2  3  1952 
PCB 1 3  «ECD 

MAY  1  ,^1953 

f  £B  1 3  1984 


M 


Form  I<-I> 


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-LfiS 

r 


AA    000  370  902    9 


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M35p 


3  1158  00917  7188 


